AJW TV 1/90 |
All Japan Junior Title Match: Mima Shimoda vs. Kaoru Ito 2:12 of 4:07. Rookie style sprint, exchanging forearms and back body drops. Neither looked particularly notable, but the high energy level combined with the brevity kept it from getting dull.
Madusa & Noriyo Tateno & Kaoru Maeda vs. Aja Kong & Bison Kimura & Grizzly Iwamoto 7:16 of 11:33. They were trying to get Aja over as the new Dump Matsumoto. She attacked an announcer, who had to be helped to the back only to return a few minutes later, as if it was really more important to have a third person calling a match that had little else to it. Shiro Abe was the heel ref, allowing Grizzly to come in and do a reversal when Kaoru was trying to pin Aja after a reverse diving body attack, then counting a lightning quick fall in Aja's favor. As a wrestling match, it was more or less uneventful. There was some decent action, but it was rather unfocused and no one stood out. *1/2
Yumiko Hotta & Akira Hokuto vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Etsuko Mita 16:32. Hot action even though they attempted to set a record for most sleeper holds in a single match. Hotta beat non shooter Mita up with her kicks, setting shooter Yamada up for the hot tag where she was able to match Hotta, nearly choking her out twice with the deadly sleeper hold then getting assistance from Mita for a third. Hokuto was by far the class of the match, her combination of speed and body control leading to everything looking precise and impactful. However, even Akira was relying on the sleeper, and Hotta followed Hokuto's two with one of her own. Despite the plethora of sleepers, this was a high paced match with an impressive sense of desperation and urgency. They made a legitimate effort to put over the sleepers, so almost every one of them was credible as a finisher, and would lead into some frantic running action. This may not have been the most logical way to follow them up, but it kept with the spirited nature of the contest. Hokuto & Hotta did a nice job of guiding Dream Orca through the match, knowing when to abuse them and when to give them a bone. Mita didn't exactly fit the match, but was mostly beat up anyway, with even Hokuto slapping her around, allowing Yamada to come off as the fiery new star by repeatedly standing up to the veterans. You knew that Dream Orca ultimately wasn't going to win, but they were in it throughout, and showed a great deal of heart and determination. ***1/4
WWWA World Single Champion Decision Match: Mitsuko Nishiwaki vs. Bull Nakano 7:17 of 12:30. Five months after Lioness Asuka retired as champion, AJW finally ushered in a new era, crowning Bull Nakano to begin a nearly three year stretch of supremacy. Although Nakano's mentor Dump Matsumoto was the dominant heel in the history of the company, she never actually held the red belt, but then Bull could actually wrestle where Dump was a master at finding ways to get heat so her actual wrestling was irrelevant. Unfortunately, the wrestling here left a lot to be desired, as top face Nishiwaki attained her role because, having retired a bunch of wrestlers that were above her, AJW was desperate for a new It Girl to reignite interest in the promotion. It was an awkward, disjointed contest that never developed any rhythm. Nishiwaki seemed incredibly limited here, with Nakano scrambling to figure out what to do with her. The moves were fine, but the setup was deliberate and the match was repetitive despite the brevity. Nishiwaki attacked before the bell with a jumping neckbreaker drop, but went tumbling to the floor when Bull sidestepped her charge, bleeding profusely. Bull seemed on course to dismantle her, clobbering her here and there, but Nishiwaki would make brief comebacks with running attacks, usually more neckbreaker drops until Bull would avoid. Nishiwaki sold long on a few occassions, such as when the doctor checked her cut, but seemed to alternate between being fine and being in really bad shape, so it was hard to know what to make of it. To have a title decision match be so short was lame enough, but they struggled to even fill it out. *1/2
