Double Title WWWA & All Pacific Title Unification Match: Yukari Omori (WWWA champ) vs. Chigusa Nagayo (All-Pacific champ). Super match! Schoolgirls go nuts for Chigusa before the match, waving their pom poms and shining lights. Much of this match was about whose strike was the strongest, with Omori's chops going against Chigusa's kicks. Match was believable in the sense of when you should and shouldn't be able to hit spots. Omori is excellent in her role as the confident, cool, calm, and collected world champion. Strong psychology. Only thing bad about the match is Chigusa decides to juice a gusher after being knocked to the floor by Omori's lariat, which makes little sense. Omori makes up for that somewhat, going after the blood like a piranha, and getting heat from the school girls for doing so. Chigusa eventually puts Omori away with a moonsault to unify the titles. ****1/2
Zen Nihon Tag Senshukenjiai: Mika Takahashi & Kaoru Maeda vs. Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda. Decent spot oriented match. Not much thought put into it and it could have been stiffer and smoother. I'm sure it was more impressive in its time because they did do a lot of spots, but the spots have been surpassed. KAORU's handstand headscissors was one cool move that somebody should still use today. **
Kakuto Gisen 3 minutes 4 rounds: Bat Yoshinaga vs. Kaoru Ito. Good for what it was. The 3rd round was particularly good with both women slugging each other back and forth. In the 4th round, they tried to pick up where they left off but they were somewhat fatigued so they weren't as active.
4 vs. 4 Elimination Match Lucha Libre Rule: Noriyo Tateno & Xochilt Hamada & Esther Moreno & Takako Inoue vs. Hyper Cat & La Diabolica & Miori Kamiya & Mayumi Yamamoto. Super fast-paced. The problem was they did 7 eliminations in less than 12 minutes. The match was exciting and the work was good, but it was a totally rushed spotfest. This was mainly Lucha since the Mexicans were involved, with Esther being the best because she was so smooth and athletic then and this was her type of match. ***1/4
Yumiko Hotta & Mariko Yoshida vs. Bison Kimura & Madusa. Madusa cut one of her classic interviews here, "We are invincible! We are defeatable!" Yoshida wasn't allowed to do many spots, but her work was really solid and she was the best in the match even though she basically only did basic stuff like dropkicks and monkey flips. Hotta & Bison didn't step up at all, so this was a disappointing match with a lame finish out of nowhere. **1/2
Universal Wrestling Renmai (federation): Gran Hamada & Yoshihiro Asai & Kendo vs. Brazo De Oro & El Brazo & Brazo De Plata. The technicos did a lot of cool moves, with the heels just serving as their foils. Asai's offense was really fantastic for the time, but today his students stuff is a lot crazier. Hamada was top notch, as always. Brazo & Brazo De Oro really did a good job of making the technicos look spectacular. The highlight was a 5 dive sequence that included the Asai moonsault and a Porky suicida. ***3/4
WWWA Sekai Tag Senshukenjiai: Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami vs. Manami Toyota & Kyoko Inoue. Toyota's enemy Kyoko replaced Toyota's injured friend Yamada, and the duo fought amongst themselves instead of working together for the common goal of winning the tag titles. It wasn't really dramatic because you never believed Toyota & Kyoko could win, but it was an excellent match because everyone was working on a high level in those days. ****
Kanaami (chain link cage) No Referee Death Match Escape Rule: Bull Nakano vs. Aja Kong. A classic grudge match; stiff, bloody, and brutal. This was a brawl with one gimmick spot after another. However, it made sense for them to take things to this level because they hated each other that much. The thing that made this match great was there was actually focus to these gimmick laden attacks. Bull used the gimmicks to try to disable Aja's uraken arm, while Aja attacked Bull's leg to try to take away her flying and kicks. The seconds helped add to the drama as they were fighting with each other the whole time for chances to help their woman out. Bull's guillotine leg drop off the top of the cage is one of the moves responsible for making a dive off the cage a "required" part of future cage matches. ****3/4
WWWA Nintei Sekai Joshi Kakutogi Senshuken Oiza Kettei Tournament Ikkaisen: Sakie Hasegawa vs. Kaoru Ito. Shoot tournament where kickboxing and throw style takedowns were legal. Not a good match from a technical standpoint, but a good match from a toughwoman standpoint.
WWWA Nintei Sekai Joshi Kakutogi Senshuken Oiza Kettei Tournament Ikkaisen: Tomoko Watanabe vs. Miori Kamiya. It had action, but it was nothing special.
Mariko Yoshida & Takako Inoue vs. Mika Takahashi & Mayumi Yamamoto. *1/2
Noriyo Tateno & Yumiko Hotta & Mima Shimoda vs. Suzuka Minami & Toshiyo Yamada & Etsuko Mita. ***
All Pacific Senshukenjiai: Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto. ****1/2
Waisha Kamikiri Tag Death Match: Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Bull Nakano & Kyoko Inoue. ****1/4
*Reviewed in Quebrada #41*
Kaoru Ito vs. Kazue Saito. Rookie style match. Aside from a few blown spots by Saito the match was technically sound, but they didn't really do anything because AJW hadn't turned them loose yet. *
Tomoko Watanabe vs. Mayumi Yamamoto. Fast paced with a lot of moves off the ropes, but a lot of Yamamoto's spots either weren't executed perfectly or lacked impact. *1/4
Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs. Hirasuine Sonteitam & Bonteipu Sontietam. Mita & Shimoda carried the match, but it wasn't good at all. The sisters were so green that Mita & Shimoda just dominated them the whole time. The match was very basic and quite dull. *
Kyoko Inoue & Debbie Malenko vs. Esther Moreno & Mariko Yoshida. Beautiful Hamada's Universal influenced Puro-Lucha. A few momentary lapses, but at its best the spots were so well done that an arm drag could leave you in awe. The match was too short, but while it lasted it had excellent spots done at a lightning fast pace, some good matwork, and even a bit of comedy. Esther ruled in this one. ****
Suzuka Minami & Takako Inoue & Cynthia Moreno vs. Bison Kimura & Mika Takahashi & Miori Kamiya. ****
Toshiyo Yamada vs. Yumiko Hotta. Very good UWF style match. Early portion wasn't outstanding, but it turned into a great match with ultra stiff strikes and near finishes back and forth. ***3/4
Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota. Aja was excellent, calling and carrying the match, supplying all the psychology and timing, and even outworking Toyota. Well built 30:00 draw. ****1/4.
2/3 Falls: Akira Hokuto & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Bull Nakano & Bat Yoshinaga. It was a big deal for the very inexperienced Sakie to just be in the main event here, so that she got crushed didn't matter because she was very greatful to Bull & Bat that she just got the opportunity to work against them. The match is excellent when Hokuto is in with Bull. They agree to add a 4th fall, but only the 3rd fall is of any length. ****1/4
Bat Yoshinaga & Tomoko Watanabe vs. Mayumi Yamamoto & Kazue Saito. *1/2
Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Mariko Yoshida vs. Mika Takahashi & Miori Kamiya & Kaoru Ito. **3/4
Suzuka Minami & Takako Inoue vs. Jungle Jack (Aja Kong & Bison Kimura). **
Heartbeat The Rival Bout: Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada. ****
All Pacific Title: Akira Hokuto vs. Yumiko Hotta. ****1/4
WWWA World Single Title: Bull Nakano vs. Kyoko Inoue. ****
Miori Kamiya & Kaoru Ito & Mayumi Yamamoto vs. Tomoko Watanabe & Kazue Saito & Akemi Torisu. *1/2
Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs. Takako Inoue & Mariko Yoshida. **
Debbie Malenko & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Suzuka Minami & Yumiko Hotta. ***1/4
Bull Nakano & Bat Yoshinaga vs. Jungle Jack (Aja Kong & Bison Kimura). ***1/4
Heartbeat The Rival Bout '92: Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada. ****3/4
IWA World Women's Title: Kyoko Inoue vs. Akira Hokuto. ****3/4
*1992 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Best Major Wrestling Card Winner*
Yumiko Hotta & Suzuka Minami & Mima Shimoda vs. Miori Kamiya & Kaoru Ito & Tomoko Watanabe. Short fast-paced spot intensive match. Suzuka & Hotta looked really good. Their execution was crisp, but the others often didn't have enough on their spots and the basic wrestling of the younger wrestlers wasn't all that great. **1/4
Shootboxing: Bat Yoshinaga vs. Akemi Torisu. This was the style you'd see in a toughman contest. The technique was poor, but it had a ton of action as they were both bangers with poor defense. Torisu was incredibly active, but she almost never kicked and her punches were swooping roundhouses. Bat's strikes looked much better and did more damage, but her defense was lame.
AJ Tag Titles: Debbie Malenko & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Takako Inoue & Mariko Yoshida. These four were still learning, but they worked their asses off. It was a solid match with a hot final third. The problem was they, Sakie in particular, missed some spots. Yoshida and Malenko were the two best and they worked well together. Mat work needed to be more focused. Takako & Yoshida win titles. ***3/4
IWA World Women's Title: Kyoko Inoue vs. Manami Toyota. This is a great match due to the work and high spots. Last 5 minutes are particularly excellent with Toyota going a tope, a plancha, and a super quebrada in succession. Unfortunately, Toyota's comebacks made Super Koji's look good. Toyota wins title. ****3/4
All Pacific Title: Bison Kimura vs. Toshiyo Yamada. They worked the typical Bison style match with her carrying. It was a solid match with pretty much everything done looking good, but it was fairly traditional with few chances taken. A good match, mainly built around Bison's blazing chops, but the action failed to get hot and the crowd never really got into it. ***1/4
WWWA World Singles Title: Bull Nakano vs. Aja Kong. An excellent battle of the monsters. These two did some great moves for their size, including Bull doing a rolling guillotine leg drop and a moonsault and Aja doing a plancha, but what made this great is they knew how and when to use them. Bull carried this match and had a great performance as Aja wasn't all that great at this point. I don't want to make this sound like a high spot match because it was the typical brutal match from these two, complete with double juice. ****1/2
Bat Yoshinaga & Tomoko Watanabe vs. Saemi Numata & Akemi Torisu. 1/2*
Suzuka Minami & Rie Tamada & Cynthia Moreno vs. Yumiko Hotta & Miori Kamiya & Kaoru Ito. *1/4
Japan Grand Prix '92: Mariko Yoshida vs. Sakie Hasegawa. ***3/4
Japan Grand Prix '92: Aja Kong vs. Bison Kimura. Brutal match. ****1/2
Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue vs. Bull Nakano & Akira Hokuto. ****
Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada. The actual wrestling is better than in their more famous hair match. *****
*Sale Only two T-120's for $30 or $35.50 or $41 COOP (one unique)*
Rie Tamada & The Goddess Chikako Hasegawa vs. Saemi Numata & Akemi Torisu. A glorified rookie style tag match. Tamada was the best of the 4, but no one did anything to make you think they'd turn into a great wrestler. *
Terri Power & Miori Kamiya vs. Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Watanabe. This is when Power & Kamiya were members of Jungle Jack. They made short work of their opponents. Watanabe was actually the best of the 4 despite her team getting dominated. Power misses one of the most debacled pescados in history. *1/4
Bat Yoshinaga vs. Kaoru Ito. Ito showed a lot of potential here as she out toughed the tough woman Bat en route to the upset win. For the most part this was a stiff match, but some spots didn't have enough on them. **
Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue & Mariko Yoshida vs. Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Cynthia Moreno. They expected nice high spots and strong work. Mita's team played heel, so that added a dimension. Basically everyone did their spots and got out. Kyoko was the best of the 6. ***
Fuji Television Tag Tournament Mid Summer Typhoon'92 Final: Bull & Aja vs. Akira Hokuto & Toshiyo Yamada. This match had an excellent story. Long time rivals Bull & Aja finally form a tag team, but its the Hokuto & Yamada team that doesn't get along, as heel Hokuto didn't want to team with face Yamada. Hokuto actually attacks her partner during the pre-match interview. The dissention continues throughout the match, predominantly build around Yamada trying to stop Hokuto from using her bokken (wooden kendo sword). This wouldn't have been all that good in America because these kind of dissention angles are so overdone, but in Japan they are rare and unlike most of the American matches, this had the work to back it up. ****1/4
Manami Toyota vs. Yamada. IWA Title Hair vs. Hair match: Toyota vs. Yamada. You had two "best friends" and partners battling it out for the title and their hair. Incredible match with great emotion, drama, heat, and intensity. Started out fast, but no one could get the advantage then slowed, but picked up at the 10 minute mark for nearly 10 minutes of great near falls before Toyota Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplexed Yamada to retain her hair and the title. Great post match with Toyota cutting some of her own hair instead of Yamada's. She had to be restrained by the other wrestlers from breaking up the hair cut, but the teary eyed Toyota got free a few times to temporarily postpone it. Toyota & Yamada hugged after the shaving to a big pop and then a Yamada chant erupted. One of the best women's singles matches of all-time. My only gripe is that the execution could have a bit crisper. The amazing thing about this match is that it came right after Yamada had worked a great tag match, although and most everything else really pales in comparison to this. *****
Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs. Miori Kamiya & The Goddess Chikako Hasegawa. *3/4
AJ Single Title: Tomoko Watanabe vs. Kaoru Ito. Ito wins title. ***
Tag League The Best '92: Takako Inoue & Terri Power vs. Suzuka Minami & Yumiko Hotta. **
All Pacific Title: Kyoko Inoue vs. Akira Hokuto. Hokuto wins title. ****1/2
Bison Kimura retirement ceremony
WWWA World Martial Arts Title: Bat Yoshinaga vs. Kyoko Kamikaze
Sakie Hasegawa & Debbie Malenko vs. Erika Tsuchiya & Yoshika Maedomari (FMW team). *1/2
WWWA World Single Title: Bull Nakano vs. Aja Kong. Aja wins title. ***3/4
2/3 Falls WWWA World Tag Titles: Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki (JWP team). Probably the best women's tag match ever. *****
The Goddess Chikako Hasegawa (Shiratori) & Masami Watanabe (ASARI) vs. Rie Tamada & Sachiko Nakamura. *
Midget Puroresu: Tomezo Tsunokake vs. Mr. Buddhaman. DUD
Saemi Numata vs. Bat Yoshinaga. *
Suzuka Minami vs. Yumiko Hotta. Really strong work with strong execution and all their big spots. The storyline of Suzuka working over Hotta's bad knee was good, but they made the mistake of dropping it when they went to the near falls back and forth. ****
Debbie Malenko & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Terri Power & Kaoru Ito. ***1/2
Kyoko Inoue vs. Takako Inoue. The beginning had no purpose, but it turned into an excellent spot oriented match with heat when Takako took control and nearly beat Kyoko via count out. Both women worked really hard. ***1/2
Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong & Bull Nakano. Fast-paced, all action Toyota style match. ****
Akira Hokuto & Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs. Harley Saito & Eagle Sawai & Miki Handa (LLPW team). Great intensity and story. They really played up the interpromotional aspect, as they needed to because this was kicking off the AJW vs. LLPW feud. Hokuto was born to do this kind of match. Harley was really at the top of her game in 1993, and she was the second best here, trailing Hokuto, of course. The post match added heat to this rivalry and put heat on the upcoming Hokuto vs. Kandori match. ****1/4
This show is just an incredible show. An absolute must see. One of the three best shows in the history of wrestling, perhaps the best ever!
Plum Mariko & Hikari Fukuoka (JWP team) vs. Sakie Hasegawa & Kaoru Ito ****1/4
Terri Power & Saemi Numata vs. Shark Tsuchiya & Crusher Maedomari (FMW team) 1/4*
Mima Shimoda & Tomoko Watanabe vs. Infernal Kaoru & Ultima Tigrita (EMLL) ***1/2
Suzuka Minami & Etsuko Mita vs. Rumi Kazama & Miki Handa (LLPW) ***3/4
WWWA Martial Arts Title: Bat Yoshinaga vs. Susan Howard
Memorial Superfight: Chigusa Nagayo vs. Devil Masami ****
Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Cuty Suzuki (JWP team) ****3/4
Aja Kong & Bull Nakano vs. Eagle Sawai & Harley Saito (LLPW team) ****
Yumiko Hotta vs. Dynamite Kansai (JWP team) ****
Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori (LLPW) Must see. Arguably the best women's singles match ever and the best example of a wrestler making a match an all-time classic on their own. Read Review 30:27. *****
Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota vs. Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo ****
I could write just about the same heading for this show as I did DREAMSLAM 1. Again, a must see show that's one of the three best shows ever!
Sakie Hasegawa vs. Hikari Fukuoka (JWP). ***1/2
Kaoru Ito & Tomoko Watanabe & Saemi Numata vs. Utako Hozumi & Leo Kitamura & Mikiko Futagami (LLPW team). **1/2
Terri Power & Bat Yoshinaga vs. Rumi Kazami & Miki Handa (LLPW team). **
Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs. Combat Toyoda & Megumi Kudo (FMW team). ****
Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue & Yumiko Hotta vs. Cuty Suzuki & Plum Mariko & Bolshoi Kid (JWP team). This is the classic match where Hotta punts The Damn Clown. ****1/4
Suzuka Minami vs. Harley Saito (LLPW). ****1/4
Memorial Superfight: Chigusa Nagayo vs. Bull Nakano. ***
Aja Kong & Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori & Eagle Sawai (LLPW team). Read Review 20:43. ***3/4
2/3 Falls WWWA World Tag Championship: Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki. 1993 Observer Match of the Year. Read Review 0:12, 14:55, 16:04. *****
AJW TV 3/6/95
AJ Tag Title #1 Contenders Match: Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa vs. Mariko Yoshida & Rie Tamada. Watanabe was the best in the match. Yoshida was good too, but not as good as usual. Tamada & Maekawa both looked good in spots, but overall they weren't impressive. **1/2
Suzuka Minami & Kauru Ito vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Mima Shimoda. Typical fast-paced workrate style bout. ***1/4
Highlights of AJW 2/26/95 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Watanabe & Kyoko visit Yamada at her apartment. During this segment Watanabe & Kyoko both put an onion and a french fry (I think) in their nose. Then the dip the part of the french fry that was in their nose into something that Yamada cooked for them and eat it.
Etsuko Mita vs. Aja Kong. Brawl with Aja being her typical rough self. Fine match technically, but Mita wasn't able to be very competitive with the champ.
WWWA World Singles Title #1 Contender Match: Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue vs. Yumiko Hotta & Manami Toyota. The stipulation was that the person who scored the pin in this match got a shot at Aja on the 3/26/95 Queendom show. This had a great storyline. The Inoues worked as a cohesive unit, but Hotta & Toyota had all kinds of dissention, almost entirely due to Hotta, because both wanted the title shot. Hotta & Toyota wind up breaking up each other's pins and eventually come to blows. Takako is just the opposite of Hotta, as she gives her chances at getting the title shot away to her regular partner Kyoko, most likely because Kyoko would have a much better chance of actually winning the title. Great ring work with all kinds of big spots. Toyota and Kyoko were excellent together. Toyota blew a few spots, including the finish which had to be redone (and that made Hotta look stupid because she had recovered from Toyota taking her out before Toyota even set up the finish the 2nd time and she just had to stand on the apron while Kyoko was pinned), which took the match down a notch. ****1/4
AJW TV 7/28/93
Sakie Hasegawa & Kaoru Ito vs. Aja Kong & Infernal KAORU. Very exciting match with great work and execution. Sakie & Ito both looked really good pushing Aja. ****
Bull Nakano & Bat Yoshinaga vs. Etsuko Mita & Takako Inoue. Lots of action and big spots. Not surprisingly, Bat did all the selling for her team. Mita had a strong showing. ***
Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami vs. Yumiko Hotta & Toshiyo Yamada. Very exciting workrate style match with all kings of big spots. Unfortunately less than half the match aired. ****
*2 tapes*
Buddhaman vs. Tsunokake. DUD
Handicap Match: The Goddess Shiratori & ASARI vs. Watanabe. Watanabe dominated both opponents. Her work was pretty good, but the other two weren't very good and their offense was basic. *
Shimoda & Numacchi vs. Minami & Mita. Mima & Suzuka were very good and worked really well together. "Numacchi in the middle" was funny. ***
Bull vs. Bat. Surprisingly good. Bull sold for most of the first 11 ½ minutes, which gave Bat credibility. Bull did a vicious powerbomb where she drops Bat almost like a Tiger Driver '91. ***
Japan Grand Prix '93 Semifinal: Toyota vs. Hokuto. Great match, of course, with super work and great build. Heated and intense as hell. Hokuto carried the match, instilling her top notch drama and psychology. Hokuto was working with a blown out knee, so Toyota attacked it fiercely, and Hokuto sold the knee incredibly well. ****1/2
Japan Grand Prix'93 Semifinal: Hotta vs. Harley Saito. Both women kicked the hell out of each other. Lots of mirror spots. Hotta didn't look good here. **3/4
Aja & Infernal KAORU & Ito vs. Yamada & Kyoko & Takako. Very good and exciting match. Nice work. Aja & Yamada were the best. ***3/4
Japan Grand Prix '93 Final: Hokuto vs. Hotta. Hokuto carried the one-dimensional Hotta to a dramatic and memorable final. Hotta began her all out attack on Hokuto's bad knee with powerful kicks before the bell even rang. Hokuto's selling was excellent, making the match seem "realistic." Very strong psychology, great storyline, and excellent build to a climactic finish. Hall of Fame performance by Hokuto. Hokuto wins Japan Grand Prix '93. ****1/4.
* I have a very limed number of 1st Gen SP sets available on two T-120's for $30*
Tomoko Watanabe & Numacchi & The Goddess Chikako Shiratori vs. Utako Hozumi & Kurenai Yasha & Mizuki Endo. Basically all spots at a fast pace, but no one really had many spots. Match was average, but it just kind of went along. *3/4
Sky High Fantasy Land: Infernal KAORU & Chaparrita ASARI vs. Bolshoi Kid & Candy Okutsu (JWP team). This match was ruined by the damn clown, who was at her annoying worst. If you can withstand Bolshoi's early antics, there's some nice gymnastics and choice high spots, but even KAORU & ASARI almost left because Bolshoi was such a joker. Worst match on the show due to bad comedy and meaningless spots. Mariko Yoshida refs this. *
Elimination Match: Bull Nakano & Suzuka Minami & Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Bat Yoshinaga vs. Eagle Sawai & Harley Saito & Miki Handa & Yukari Osawa & Leo Kitamura (LLPW team). Surprisingly great match. Lightning fast workrate with excellent set up of spots. Booking was great, with everyone in AJW getting a bone and Eagle getting put over huge despite eventually doing the job, even though the storyline was "all wrong" because the home team (AJW) got a 5-2 lead. Really heated. Harley was best of these ten here. ****1/2
Over the Idol ~Summer Heroine Series~:Takako Inoue vs. Cuty Suzuki (JWP). Solid match with Takako doing a good job of carrying Cuty. ***1/4
Toshiyo Yamada & Kaoru Ito vs. Megumi Kudo & Yukie Nabeno (FMW team). Despite Yukie Nabeno lacking everything, the other three, particularly Yamada, made this a very good exciting match. Pretty simple match that built well and everyone was utilized in a way they could impress the crowd. ***1/2
Kyoko Inoue vs. Shinobu Kandori (LLPW). Kyoko worked within the limitations of what Kandori can do, but it was a really exciting match with all kinds of false finishes. ****1/4
High Tension Triple Impact: Yumiko Hotta & Manami Toyota & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Plum Mariko & Hikari Fukuoka (JWP team). Toyota style workrate match. Lightning fast pace with everyone using most of the spots in their arsenal. Really exciting with excellent ringwork. Hotta was the best, with perfect execution and timing. ****1/2
All Pacific Title: Akira Hokuto vs. Rumi Kazama (LLPW). Tremendous performance by Hokuto, who was working with blown out knee and broken bone in her back. Rumi is mediocre at best, but Hokuto carried her to a dramatic match with great selling. ****
WWWA Title: Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai (JWP). Battle of the champions of the respective promotions. Mega stiffness. Beginning is fairly weak, but gets dramatic, heated, and generally awesome. ****
*2 tapes*
*reviewed in Quebrada #33*
Etsuko Mita & Tomoko Watanabe & Numacchi vs. Carol Midori & Mizuki Endo & Mikiko Futagami (LLPW team). It went along at a good pace, and there were no real lulls in the action, but it got sloppy in some parts and there wasn't much to get excited about. Mita was the lone veteran in the match, so she basically dominated the LLPW women when she was in, making it clear that she could pin them any time she felt like it. **
Roller Coaster 4 x 4 Captain Fall Match: Mima Shimoda (captain) & Kaoru Ito & The Goddess Chikako Shiratori & Chaparrita ASARI vs. Cuty Suzuki (captain) & Plum Mariko & Hikari Fukuoka & Command Bolshoi (JWP team). This match ruled, and I was suitably stoked because now I have a match with The Goddess that I could send somebody and they would actually want to watch it. This was all action from start to finish with tons of double, triple, and quadruple teaming, including an attempted quadruple dropkick and the requisite consecutive plancha spot. It was fast-paced early with basic moves, building to the big spots later on. Everyone contributed to this match, but Ito was the most impressive of the bunch. ****1/4
Sakie Hasegawa & Takako Inoue vs. Shinobu Kandori & Kurenai Yasha (LLPW team). This had great heat, particularly when Kandori was in. The match was built around Kandori's submissions, particularly her choke sleeper. For ring work, the other three weren't on the same planet as Sakie. However, Takako was pretty effective here, getting big pops when she got stiff with Kandori and when she used her Destiny Hammer on Kandori for a near fall. ***
Yumiko Hotta & Suzuka Minami vs. Bull Nakano & Reggie Bennett in a match billed as "Star & Rising Sun 4 VIPS." This was a boring slow-paced match with Suzuka being the best worker, but no one looking particularly good or bad. The match picked up after the 9-minute mark with Bull & Suzuka in, and continued with Suzuka & Bennett exchanging signature spots. Bennett's work wasn't smooth and fluid, which hurt the closing minutes. A big near fall came when Bull hit her guillotine leg drop then Bennett splashed Suzuka. Bennett then put Suzuka in her Reggie rack (Argentine backbreaker/torture rack) for the win. ***
Star & Rising Sun 4 VIPS: Yumiko Hotta & Suzuka Minami vs. Bull Nakano & Reggie Bennett. Not technically bad, but slow paced and kind of boring. Suzuka was the best worker, but no one looked particularly good or bad. **
Kyoko Inoue vs. Devil Masami (JWP). This was both exactly what it had to be and everything you could ask for from a singles match between these two. The storyline and psychology were great, and the match built perfectly. They worked a slow-paced Devil style match with Devil controlling the match, but Kyoko making comebacks by countering Devil's moves. Kyoko's comebacks were short lived though, as Devil would quickly cut her off, usually by avoiding or countering one of Kyoko's moves. I usually hate flash pins, but based on the body of the match, it was the perfect finish. ****1/4
Rainbow Sensation: Manami Toyota vs. Mayumi Ozaki (JWP). This match had much more mat wrestling then you would expect, but both women were really effective in that aspect. Unfortunately, while the match was solid and the quality was strong, it never really kicked into high gear. There was a conscious effort in this match, and the next, to keep the main finishers strong, with the main psychology here being whether Ozaki could put Toyota away before Manami J.O.C. suplexed her for the win. It was an excellent match, but not as good as expected. ****1/4
Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai (JWP). This was the best match on the show, and it was a great match. Yamada was at the peak of her excellence during this time period. As usual, she did whatever it took to have a great match, which in this case meant absorbing a tremendous beating, but also dishing one out. This was really stiff, like All Japan main event level of stiffness, and the execution was very crisp. The storyline of this match, to a much greater extent than the last match, was that it was a battle of the two main finishers, Yamada's reverse Gori special bomb and Kansai's splash mountain. As with the last match, they were trying to strengthen the finishers, and it became clear that the women who successfully executed her finisher first would be the winner. Grueling match. ****1/2
The Marinepiad Biggest: Aja Kong vs. Akira Hokuto. Hokuto was coming off knee surgery and was still walking with crutches that day, so this match didn't approach the standard of excellence one would expect from these two. Still, it was a memorable match because Hokuto's performance was one of the gutsiest of all-time. Aja totally dominated Hokuto, predominantly kicking Hokuto's bad knee or working it over with submission holds. This match epitomizes Hokuto's legendary never say die attitude, but it wasn't that great of a match becase she just wasn't physically able to compete with Aja. **3/4
Tomoko Watanabe vs. Candy Okutsu (JWP). **1/4
The Goddess Chikako Shiratori vs. Harley Saito (LLPW). DUD
Zen Nihon Junior Senshukenjiai: Mizuki Endo (LLPW) vs. Chaparrita ASARI. ASARI wins title. **
Kyoko Inoue vs. Yukie Nabeno (FMW). *
Zen Nihon Tag Senshukenjiai: Sakie Hasegawa & Kaoru Ito vs. Kurenai Yasha & Mikiko Futagami (LLPW team). ***1/2
Bull Nakano vs. Hikari Fukuoka (JWP). ***1/4
Aja Kong vs. Eagle Sawai (LLPW). ***3/4
First Attack Saiyo (employ) Captain Fall Survival War: Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami & Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs. Dynamite Kansai & Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki & Plum Mariko. Similar to the 7/31/93 classic. ****3/4
All Pacific Oza Ketteisen: Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada. Yamada wins All Pacific. ****1/4
UWA Sekai Joshi Tag Senshukenjiai: Yumiko Hotta & Takako Inoue vs. Shinobu Kandori & Miki Handa. ***
*2 tapes*
Tomoko Watanabe & Chikako Shiratori vs. Utako Hozumi & Leo Kitamura
Midget Puroresu: Little Frankie vs. Mr. Buddhaman
Zen Nihon Junior Senshukenjiai: Chaparrita ASARI vs. Candy Okutsu
Zen Nihon Tag Senshukenjiai: Sakie Hasegawa & Kaoru Ito vs. Miki Handa & Kurenai Yasha
Combat Toyoda vs. Suzuka Minami
Zenjo Izumu vs. Pure Heart Scramble Jungle: Bull Nakano & Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs. Cuty Suzuki & Plum Mariko & Hikari Fukuoka
WWWA Sekai Single Senshukenjiai: Aja Kong vs. Megumi Kudo
WWWA Sekai Tag Senshukenjiai: Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota
Dangerous Queen Tokyo Saiban (trial): Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori
The Goddess Chikako Shiratori vs. Kumiko Maekawa
Midget Puroresu: Little Frankie vs. Tomezo Tsunokake
Tag League The Best '93 Koshikisen: Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda vs. Kaoru Ito & Tomoko Watanabe
Bull Nakano & Chaparrita ASARI vs. Yumiko Hotta & Suzuka Minami
Tag League The Best '93 Koshikisen: Aja Kong & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Eagle Sawai & Kurenai Yasha (LLPW team).
Tag League The Best '93 Koshikisen: Akira Hokuto & Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Kyoko Inoue. Great match.
Tag League The Best '93 Yushoketteisen: Akira Hokuto & Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Kyoko Inoue. Great match.