wXw 3/10/18 wXw Shotgun Title Match: Bobby Gunns vs. Mike Bailey 13:10. This was Bailey's 4th match of the day, as he lost the AMBITION 9 Final to Timothy Thatcher after defeating Jonah Rock & David Starr. He gave a very spectacular performance, particularly carrying the early portion with some breathtaking aerial exploits. Despite starting with a bang, nothing came easy here. Both men did a good job of struggling for their offense, with Bailey having to be exceptionally fast, and somewhat tricky to sneak in his flying. Gunns was mostly just being an annoying heel early into his offense, more concerned with gyrating, but soon got serious and delivered one of the most sadistic finger attacks ever, snapping Bailey's left pinky then bending it all the way back on two occassions. Gunns then unwrapped his own wrist tape, an used it to tape Bailey's pinky back, which left it prone to stomps. This was much more convincing then Penta's arm breaking, and grew increasingly uncomfortable as the match progressed, with Bailey doing a great good job of contorting his finger to make it appear that Gunns had broken it. The finger storyline was equally working to get Gunns over as an ultra sadistic heel, and Bailey over as the underdog full of heart and fighting spirit. Bailey finally unwrapping the tape and snapping his own finger back into place for one final big run was the least believable aspect of finger storyline. The finish came when Gunns got an omoplata after kicking out, and went into a trapped armbar. ***1/2

AJW 11/26/92 Kawasaki-shi Taiikukan, All Pacific Title: Kyoko Inoue vs. Akira Hokuto 22:17.
DC: Arguably the highest quality in-ring feud in AJW during 1992 was Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada. Another memorable feud was Bull Nakano vs. Aja Kong for the Red Belt. However, the feud between Kyoko Inoue and Akira Hokuto should definitely not be overlooked. This was the third singles match between Kyoko and Hokuto. Their first match took place in 1991, and their previous battle took place on 1/4/92, which was a great match that saw Kyoko retain the IWA World Title. The execution of all the moves was great, and they really put this over as a grueling struggle for a major championship. Kyoko was in control early on, including a 33-rep giant swing, and Hokuto was only occasionally able to try to do something back. Hokuto was eventually able to turn things around. They spent a lot of time stretching each other in holds in order to try to incapacitate the other. When Kyoko ended up on the floor, Hokuto saw this as a great opportunity to hit a plancha off the top rope to do some more damage to the champion. Hokuto really gave Kyoko a hard time, and instead of letting her back into the ring, Hokuto dropkicked Kyoko back to the floor and followed this up with a somersault plancha off the top. Things were definitely looking good for Hokuto, as Kyoko was struggling to get back into the ring. Hokuto greeted Kyoko with a dropkick off the top rope. Kyoko had some energy left and tried to stop Hokuto's momentum whenever she could. This led to some high-quality back-and-forth action with several near falls during the final minutes. This exciting battle eventually came to an end when Hokuto won the match and the title, which meant she was the holder of the White Belt for a second time. ****½ 

AJW 4/2/93 Yokohama Arena: Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Cuty Suzuki 16:44.
DC: This was the 7th match of the 11-match Dream Slam I card. For those who don't know, Dream Slam I was one of the greatest pro wrestling shows ever, arguably THE greatest (and the same could be said for Dream Slam II, which took place on 4/11/93 in Osaka), and it's pretty much a must-see for anyone who considers themselves to be a true wrestling fan. Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue, known as Double Inoue (or W Inoue the way the Japanese abbreviate it), were not related in spite of sharing the same last name, which is a relatively common Japanese last name (which also means neither of them is related to Mighty Inoue or any of the other Inoues in puroresu). Mayumi Ozaki & Cuty Suzuki represented the JWP league, and they wanted to prove that the JWP wrestlers could not only hang in there with the big-league wrestlers of AJW, they were also out there to win. Ozaki and Takako started this match off. They didn't want to let the other get the upper hand this early in the match. They both tagged out rather quickly after not having much success against each other. As soon as Kyoko entered the ring against Suzuki, Kyoko executed a 39-rep giant swing! This left Suzuki dazed for a while. Double Inoue tried to take advantage of Suzuki being dazed and confused, but Suzuki used her quickness to tag in Ozaki as soon as she got the opportunity to do so. Takako and Ozaki had faced each other before in interpromotional action in a great match that took place in JWP on 12/1/92 with Hikari Fukuoka & Yumiko Hotta, and then again in JWP in a ****+ star match on 1/15/93 with Dynamite Kansai as Ozaki's partner. Ozaki had lost her first two matches to AJW (the other being the off the charts 11/26/92 tag with Kansai against Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota), but on 1/15/93, despite the viciousness of badass invader Hotta, Ozaki really took a stand for her league, and finally broke though and scored the pin over Takako. Tonight's action was at its most fluid whenever Kyoko and Ozaki wrestled each other, which made sense since they were the two best workers in this match and among the best pure in-ring workers in all of pro wrestling at the time. The match really put over the struggle and the tension between the two teams and the two leagues they represented. The flamboyant and colorful Kyoko walked up the ropes (without using her hands), as she went for a high flying move, but Ozaki pushed her off the top rope, and Kyoko tumbled via the apron onto the floor. Ozaki quickly followed up with a springboard twisting somersault plancha off the second rope to the floor onto Kyoko. Suzuki went for a simpler move, as Suzuki leaped off the apron and hit Takako with a plancha. Ozaki threw Takako into the guardrail for good measure. They didn't stay on the floor long, because they wanted to settle things in the ring. Suzuki executed a dragon suplex on Kyoko. Ozaki & Suzuki assaulted Kyoko by hitting several double foot stomps off the top rope in succession. Takako briefly interrupted Ozaki's relentless assault by kicking her. This was enough for Kyoko to escape Ozaki for a second and go for a springboard move off the middle rope, but Ozaki was able to react so quickly that she caught Kyoko and German suplexed her. Ozaki hit a Satoru Sayama-esque moonsault and went for the cover, but Kyoko kicked out. Ozaki front flipped onto Kyoko's body in an attempt to hit a huracarrana, but Kyoko caught Ozaki and nailed her with a powerbomb. Ozaki was able to kick out though. Both teams showed very good teamwork, and everyone came to the rescue of their respective tag team partners whenever possible and whenever needed. The action never slowed down in this match. As a matter of fact, it felt like the action only kept increasing in speed and intensity. Ozaki hit the tequila sunrise, but Kyoko desperately leaped towards Ozaki to break up the pin. Kyoko walked up the ropes without using her hands and then hit a backwards falling elbow drop off the top rope onto Ozaki. Kyoko went for a powerbomb, but Ozaki countered and almost scored the pin on Kyoko. Kyoko picked Ozaki up, but Ozaki managed to armdrag her way out of the situation. Ozaki managed to execute the huracarrana she attempted earlier, but Kyoko kicked out. Ozaki Irish whipped Kyoko into the ropes, but Kyoko springboarded off the middle rope and hit Ozaki with a dropkick. Kyoko executed a Liger bomb. Referee Daichi Murayama was about to count to three, but Suzuki managed to break up the pin on time. The near falls continued, and the crowd was really into the action. In the end, Takako scored the pinfall after Double Inoue double-teamed Ozaki. In the post-match interview, Takako mentioned that she thinks her rivalry with Ozaki isn't over yet. It was a great match, and these four shining stars were able to show what great joshi puroresu is all about. The workrate was very high, the action was hot and filled with exciting moves, and both teams represented their leagues very well. The JWP team showed that they were able to hang in there with the AJW team, and this interpromotional feud was far from over. ****¾