JWP UWA World Wrestling Commercial Tape 1990 Korea |
Itsuki Yamazaki & Miki Handa vs. Plum Mariko & Hikari Fukuoka 10:40. Yamazaki basically stepped aside and let the younger wrestlers do their thing. They ran around a lot, but didn’t use their better moves, which, along with the shorter matches, are the trademarks of the shows JWP put on in foreign countries. Mariko, who works as hard as anyone in the league, still put forth a good effort. Fukuoka gave another sloppy performance. *1/2
Mayumi Ozaki & Yukari Osawa vs. Rumi Kazama & Harley Saito 12:39. Kazama gave a better performance than she typically was in 1990, looking sharp with striking sequences built out of avoiding her opponent’s blows. Saito showed confidence and maturity, stepping up to carry the match. The slick strike sequences between Kazama & Saito were quite impressive. Ozaki was in all out heel mode, busting Harley open with double teaming in the corner then repeatedly punching Saito to squeeze every drop out. While Ozaki & Osawa were effective, I wanted to see a few minutes of Ozaki actually wrestling Harley before the finish, rather than her and Osawa basically doing a competent version of Mad Dog Military bloodletting. They had a chance to deliver a very good match, but did a fluke schoolboy finish rather than expanded beyond the body. **1/2
Devil Masami & The Scorpion vs. Shinobu Kandori & Mami Kitamura 8:48. Masami & Scorpion were JWP’s best team at this point, and even though the match was too short, this was the prime example of what made them so good. Masami & Scorpion were certainly in top form, working well individually and together, including Scorpion using Masami’s back as a horse to do a diving body attack off. Kandori deserves a lot of credit here, as with a young scrub her tendency is to be the one man show, setting herself apart from the others, but she was very much a part of this match. Her selling was really good, making Devil and even Scorpion’s offense seem more painful and impactful than it actually was. One funny spot saw Kandori unmask Scorpion... only to reveal another mask. ***
Eagle Sawai vs. Miss A 9:39. Though A still threw a diving elbow in, this was the type of slower, higher impact match Eagle & Kansai would became associated with in later years. A really seemed closer to discovering the wrestler she would be in this match than probably any other from 1990. She has better offense, but their ring work is pretty equal at this point as this might have been Eagle’s peak year. They condensed the match for Korea as expected, but they took out most of the weardown rather than the highlights. A attacked Eagle’s knee and Eagle came back with some brawling, but after that it was mostly good moves, at least for the period. They were well matched and gave you the quality of wrestling they were capable of, but it was still a slight disappointment because even though you knew it wouldn’t last too long, you figured they’d give you another couple of minutes. ***
