Chikayo Nagashima vs. Kumiko Maekawa 12:42. Chikayo Nagashima is OZ Academy's version of Maekawa's greatest rival, Momoe Nakanishi, so even if Maekawa was nearly at the end of the line, this still had every reason to be an interesting match. Unfortunately, it was merely an annoying one, as Maekawa was given the star treatment over a peer who is a far superior in essentially every way. Nagashima sold all Maekawa's kicks, which by her standards were only average, as if she was clubbed by a baseball bat. As Maekawa was “too tough” for Nagashima to do any real damage to, she resigned herself to going for flash pins. All of this didn't ruin the match so much as the simple fact that Maekawa was just lethargic, showing no explosion at all. Nagashima took the pace down several notches, to the point her normally jaw dropping quick sequences were verging on deliberate. *1/2
Carlos Amano vs. Kaoru Ito 10:02 of 15:57. Ito apparently didn't get the memo that no one expects much from the undercard because she was bringing it from start to finish. Ito isn't as graceful as she used to be, but she can still go. I was hoping the former U*TOPS member would take better advantage of a rare opponent who can actually work on the mat, but alas Ito didn't deviate from her typical offense. She was more than willing to sell for Amano, so her knowledge of matwork and submission did come in handy, but on the other hand, her body control leaving something to be desired was the major downside of the entertaining match. Even if this victory was slightly flukish due to it coming on a small package, it was nonetheless a nice feather in Carlos' cap. **3/4
Mayumi Ozaki vs. Tomoko Watanabe 11:44 of 13:32. I don't mind that this wasn't a completely straight wrestling match as the previous two were, but I would have liked it to at least resemble wrestling or a match. Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh and overexaggerated, but while a bit of well timed interference can certainly add a dimension to a match, one shouldn't need a scorecard to keep track of who is hopping in and out. Whenever Ozaki and Watanabe were in the ring, another OZ Academy member or Ito or Maekawa or the entire brood were also in the ring. The rest of the time, they just fought outside the ring. Normally a match with countless saves would be dramatic, but, in addition to killing killed any flow the match could possibly have developed, the constant run-ins rendered me numb. It was never a question of if there would be a save, but rather how many milliseconds before the next in line could get out of the block and into the ring. *
Aja Kong & Misae Genki vs. Jaguar Yokota & Dynamite Kansai 12:44. I haven't seen much of Yokota lately, but I hope this match is no indication of her current state. She wasn't looking quick or athletic enough for her style of wrestling, and as a consequence she probably had more miscues than in the entire decade of the 1990's. The other three weren't exactly picking Jaguar up either. Kansai was fairly good, all things considered, but in general the match was in slow motion and the offense was far too light. It's hard function solely in power wrestler mode when the opposition is as huge as you are, but they seemed to try because they didn't feel like getting beat up. 3/4*
Mayumi Ozaki & Chikayo Nagashima & Carlos Amano vs. Manami Toyota & Meiko Satomura & Nanae Takahashi 23:27. It doesn't help to do a long match if you aren't going to take the early portion seriously. It wound up coming off as an exhibition because they were having too much fun, killing time with poster poses. The wrestling was eventually good, but the athletes have to play with intensity in order for the fans to observe with intensity. This was more like an all star game where even though they really stepped it up toward the end to try to win, by that point you couldn't forget that they were just out there to entertain. **1/4
Carlos Amano vs. Kyoko Kimura 17:36
Chikayo Nagashima & Dynamite Kansai & Police vs. Nanae Takahashi 12:42
Mayumi Ozaki vs. Mika Nishio 19:03
Elimination: Aja Kong & Kaoru Ito & Kumiko Maekawa & Tomoko Watanabe vs. Carlos Amano & Chikayo Nagashima & Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki 24:06
2/25/06: Martha Villalobos & Cinthia Moreno & La Diabolica vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Chikayo Nagashima & Carlos Amano
3/4/06: Martha Villalobos & Cinthia Moreno & La Diabolica vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Chikayo Nagashima & Dynamite Kansai
3/5/06: La Chola & Diabolica & Cinthia Moreno & Miss Janeth vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Chikayo Nagashima & Carlos Amano & Dynamite Kansai
3/10/06, Rey De Reyes: Lola Gonzalez & Martha Villalobos & Cinthia Moreno & Miss Janeth vs. Tiffany & Chikayo Nagashima & Dynamite Kansai & Diabolica
Chikayo Nagashima vs. Nanae Takahashi 10:06
Jaguar Yokota vs. Shark Tsuchiya 15:50
Aja Kong & Amazing Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki 14:20
Chikayo Nagashima & Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Apple Miyuki & Ayumi Kurihara & Kaori Yoneyama 14:51
Carlos Amano vs. Mika Nishio 22:24 + 3:49
Special Rule: Hikaru & Nanae Takahashi & Saki Maemura vs. Chikayo Nagashima 13:00
Dynamite Kansai vs. GAMI 11:15
Manami Toyota vs. Mika Nishio 10:54
Aja Kong & Amazing Kong vs. Chikayo Nagashima & Dynamite Kansai 12:59
Mayumi Ozaki vs. Carlos Amano 16:07
Tanny Mouse & Yuki Miyazaki vs. Carlos Amano & Chikayo Nagashima 26:49
Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Aja Kong & Ran YuYu 18:33
15 Man Battle Royal: Bolshoi Kid vs. AKINO vs. Bullfight Sora vs. Carlos Amano vs. Chikayo Nagashima vs. Devil Masami vs. Dynamite Kansai vs. Hikaru vs. Kayoko Haruyama vs. Manami Toyota vs. Mayumi Ozaki vs. Misae Genki vs. Nanae Takahashi vs. Police vs. Yuki Miyazaki 29:26
Chikayo Nagashima & Tojuki Leon vs. Bullfight Sora & Carlos Amano 16:34
Amazing Kong vs. GAMI 12:00
Hikaru & Nanae Takahashi & Natsuki Head vs. Aja Kong & Ayumi Kurihara & Manami Toyota 24:32
AKINO & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Dynamite Kansai & Michiko Omukai 13:02
OZ Academy vs. M's Style Captain Fall: Carlos Amano & Chikayo Nagashima & Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki & Police vs. AKINO & Ayumi Kurihara & Bullfight Sora & Michiko Omukai & Tojuki Leon 11:41
7/29/06
Ran YuYu vs. Ayumi Kurihara
Amazing Kong vs. Bullfight Sora
Aja Kong & AKINO & Tojuki Leon vs. Manami Toyota & Toshie Uematsu & Hiroyo Muto
Mayumi Ozaki & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Dynamite Kansai & Carlos Amano
7/30/06
Manami Toyota vs. Bullfight Sora
Toshie Uematsu vs. Hiroyo Muto
Mayumi Ozaki & Chikayo Nagashima & Dynamite Kansai & Carlos Amano vs. Aja Kong & Amazing Kong & AKINO & Ran YuYu
Manami Toyota vs. Natsuki*Head 11:17. Natsuki was already pretty good here. Match was entertaining enough. A lot of offense, but it had the usual Toyota meandering exhibition feel.
Manami Toyota & Yumiko Hotta vs. Stalker Ishikawa & Futoshi Miwa 6:07
Manami Toyota vs. Mima Shimoda 5:52 of 10:00. Toshiyo Yamada reffed.
Azumi Hyuga & Chikayo Nagashima & Carlos Amano & Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Manami Toyota & Mariko Yoshida & Kaoru Ito & Tomoko Watanabe 19:48 of 23:46. Freedom Force reuinites with Watanabe stepping in for the retired Sakie Hasegawa, who is at ringside & does a couple spots. The match is somewhat lighthearted early on, but once they get done having their fun, they bring the sort of action you'd expect. Watanabe didn't wrestle a lot once AJW folded, but she seems in better shape than during her heyday, and is the most effective worker on her team in this match. The Freedom Force workrate match was better suited for the ex-AJW team a decade ago, and now Hyuga & Nagashima are the stars of the match with their athleticism, speed, & precision. Yoshida is good, of course, but would rather be doing a different style, and often does. There's one good spot where Azumi counters into an armbar, but Amano mangles Yoshida's other attempt at the grappling style. While Yoshida still has her moments, for the most part the best sequences are Watanabe vs. Azumi & Watanabe vs. Chikayo. Kuragaki doesn't seem large compared to any of the AJW women, but brings a nice mix of power & speed, simultaneously holding Watanabe & Yoshida in an Argentine backbreaker. Toyota rightfully pretty much takes the match off after working 3 matches earlier to gear up for the big main event with her biggest rival, but Azumi does manage to pin her setting up her JWP title challenge on 9/18. ***
Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota 19:44 of 23:38. As with the Aja/Satomura Senjo match, while they weren't really breaking any new ground, the best you were going to do in 2006 is two top performers who have great chemistry together going long & hard. Aja always did a great job carrying these matches, the tone was entirely different than the previous matches on the show as it was totally serious with no excess. Aja had a big advantage because she'd been preparing herself in the locker room, while Toyota had already been out there for an hour, so Aja was mostly beating down. She predictably wasn't fighting fairly either, relying heavily on the chair, and piledriving Manami through a table. Toyota isn't as explosive as she used to be, but she still moves well enough that her brief, high flying comebacks worked & were helping to make the match. She's also a good sympathetic babyface in a match that was classically laid out to get the audience to support her. The crowd was into the match, but Shunjuku FACE is a very small building, so this didn't have the atmosphere of the classic Aja/Toyota matches, and that's the one area where Aja/Satomura had a clear advantage. Still, I liked this match a bit more because outside of Aja's chinlock, it felt like everything they were doing was relevant. In a perfect setting, I might rather see a high stakes submission battle, but without the intensity on those holds, I'd rather see Toyota hitting a missile kick to the floor than performers hoping I'll care about locks I'm smart enough to know are little more than rest holds. This match never felt amazing, but it was always entertaining. Maybe Toyota was a step slow getting up after he missile kick, so Aja had to decelerate cutting her off with her lariat, but I really appreciated the effort of these two in adding another enjoyable match to their rivalry. Aja eventually took her out with the uraken, and while iIt made sense for Toyota to lose, it was still surprising to see her job two matches in a row. ***1/2
Point System Match: Mayumi Ozaki vs. Carlos Amano 4:37 of 5:34. Really good short match. They treated it as a big match, something of real importance. Obviously there was no time for development, but given it was essentially a lengthy finishing segment, it was pretty much everything one could ask for. The match was fast-paced and well executed. They wrestled with a sense of urgency, and were even laying into each other in the headbutt vs. uraken exchanges. Police handed Ozaki her chain early, but Carlos caught her with a diving lariat before she could use it, and otherwise the match went off with no weapons or interference. Carlos pinned Ozaki in a jackknife hold to avenge her loss on 4/30/06.
Point System Match: Dynamite Kansai vs. Chikayo Nagashima 0:41. Nagashima wanted her huracanrana, while Kansai wanted her splash mountain. Nagashima won out.
Point System Match: Mayumi Ozaki vs. Chikayo Nagashima 7:42. Same deal as the Ozaki vs. Amano match except it wasn't nearly as well executed, and thus convincing. They would have been better off putting less emphasis on speed and more emphasis on the impact, but these days it's never a bad thing when they try to be too impressive. **1/2
Point System Match: Dynamite Kansai vs. Carlos Amano 6:28 of 8:01. They cut out the deadtime rather than rather skipping the beginning as usual to show Kansai was once again looking for the splash mountain from the outset. Amano was focusing on one move finishes, either trying to catch Kansai in an arm submission or get a flash pin. It helps that they are so familiar with one another, but the primary reason the match was better than expected is Amano was just on fire tonight. **
Point System Match: Chikayo Nagashima vs. Carlos Amano 8:19 of 9:12. Best match so far. Rather than getting sucked into the usual scatterbrain rushing they really did a nice job of pacing this to put over the story of the night, slowing the match down to show their fatigue without losing anything in quality. They are capable of more impressive sequences, but this was a very mature performance from both, as they were smart about the manner in which they went about taking the pace down, focusing on executing as well as possible (they rarely connect so solidly on their strikes) and putting over the toll of the night. Amano was best able to wrestle again after brief layoffs, and was definitely the most consistent performer of the night. ***
Point System Match: Mayumi Ozaki vs. Dynamite Kansai 14:22 of 15:00. Kansai isn't doing much on her own these days, but even though she's nowhere near the wrestler she was a decade ago, she still has great chemistry with her top rival. In a sense, this Ozaki vs. Kansai match was really nothing special, but by merely doing a simple intelligent match they resurrected the once must see fued, delivering the best entry in years. Though it was an Ozaki one woman show, Kansai deserves a lot of credit for that because she had to put aside her tough woman gimmick and allow Ozaki to give her an ass whipping. Kansai can still sell, and she can still execute well, it's trying to keep a high pace that gives her trouble. But amazingly, they did the smart thing and stayed slow throughout, first putting over the toll of the league, and then giving way to the specifics of the current match. In theory, they could have had a better match if they weren't wrestling all night, but that may have actually helped the match in that it forced the to remember how to use their heads rather than just doing the usual burst of action & calling it a night. This was a logical match with a thoughtful progression of holds. Police was doing his best to ruin it as always, and Ozaki did finally use a few gimmicks, but they added to the match because there was purpose and consistency. For instance, the chair shot to Kansai's knee set up the figure 4 and the umbrella to the knee set up a diving footstomp to the knee and kneebar. There was also a good spot where Police finally decided to interfere, but this cost Ozaki because she finally got to the ropes to escape Kansai's ½ crab while the ref had her back turned to scold Police. As always, it's not what you do, but when and how you incorporate it. All that being said, I don't want to make it sound like a dull match. They may have been in a lower gear, but they worked most of the greatest hits into the set list. Due to Ozaki & Kansai splitting their three points by drawing, Nagashima won the league with 6 points to Ozaki & Kansai's 4.5. ***1/2
Mayumi Ozaki & Carlos Amano vs. Chikayo Nagashima & Dynamite Kansai 16:26 of 18:26. I like the wild fight concept better as a singles match since the Texas Tornado rules tend to render it chaotic. The pace was actually moderate and they took the time to sell, but it was more that you were either involved in the main action or down, so the selling was more a product of the other three doing a 2 on 1 spot than something they were putting a major effort into. I didn't find there to be any real drama here, so it just came off as a rather flat and underwhelming succession of weapon spots. Police stayed out of it until the last minute when he broke up Kansai's pin attempt following her splash mountain finisher with a florescent bulb. Suddenly, Nagashima just decided to double cross Kansai with a DDT on a chair and Ozaki hit Kansai with a super sized florescent bulb then her and Nagashima covered for the win. **
Plum Mariko highlights and memorial ceremony
Carlos Amano & Mayumi Ozaki vs. DJ Nira & YOSHIYA 18:52
Kintaro Kanemura vs. Dynamite Kansai 10:13
Carlos Amano & Chikayo Nagashima vs. MAZADA & NOSAWA Rongai 23:23
Aja Kong & Ayako Hamada vs. Chikayo Nagashima & Mayumi Ozaki 13:19
10/1/06 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE, Sonoko Kato Restart Again!!: Aja Kong & Sonoko Kato vs. Meiko Satomura & KAORU
~THE WIZARD OF OZ~ OZ Academy Openweight Title 1st Single Champion League Match: : Aja Kong [1] vs. Chikayo Nagashima [0] 7:46
~THE WIZARD OF OZ~ OZ Academy Openweight Title 1st Single Champion League Match: : Mayumi Ozaki [1] vs. Dynamite Kansai [0] 5:38
Carlos Amano & Ran YuYu vs. Azumi Hyuga & Tsubasa Kuragaki 23:45
Chikayo Nagashima & Toshie Uematsu vs. Meiko Satomura & Sonoko Kato 14:53
11/17/06 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE
~THE WIZARD OF OZ~ OZ Academy Openweight Title 1st Single Champion League Match: Aja Kong vs. Chikayo Nagashima 7:47
~THE WIZARD OF OZ~ OZ Academy Openweight Title 1st Single Champion League Match: Mayumi Ozaki vs. Dynamite Kansai 5:38
12/30/06 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE
~THE WIZARD OF OZ~ OZ Academy Openweight Title 1st Single Champion League Match: Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai 8:01
~THE WIZARD OF OZ~ OZ Academy Openweight Title 1st Single Champion League Match: Carlos Amano vs. Mayumi Ozaki 9:58
1/28/07 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE
Chikayo Nagashima vs. Carlos Amano 9:56
Mayumi Ozaki vs. Aja Kong 8:43
2/10/07 Tokyo Shinkiba 1st RING, THE WIZARD OF OZ OZ Academy Openweight Title League Match: Aja Kong vs. Carlos Amano 10:00
3/10/07 Tokyo Shinjuku FACE
THE WIZARD OF OZ OZ Academy Openweight Title League Match: Dynamite Kansai vs. Carlos Amano 7:09
THE WIZARD OF OZ OZ Academy Openweight Title League Match: Dynamite Kansai vs. Chikayo Nagashima 4:29
THE WIZARD OF OZ OZ Academy Openweight Title League Match: Chikayo Nagashima vs. Mayumi Ozaki 8:32
THE WIZARD OF OZ OZ Academy Openweight Title Champion Decision Final: Chikayo Nagashima vs. Aja Kong 8:00
12/30/06 Chikayo Nagashima Produce Part 2: Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Chikayo Nagashima & Sonoko Kato 10:44. Digest
1/28/07 Mayumi Ozaki & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Sonoko Kato & AKINO 18:51. About half shown.
Carlos Amano & Dynamite Kansai vs. Ran YuYu & Yuki Miyazaki 18:57
Aja Kong & Mayumi Ozaki vs. Chikayo Nagashima & Sonoko Kato 10:44
~THE WIZARD OF OZ~ OZ Academy Openweight Title 1st Single Champion League Match: : Aja Kong [2] vs. Dynamite Kansai [0] 8:01
~THE WIZARD OF OZ~ OZ Academy Openweight Title 1st Single Champion League Match: : Carlos Amano [1] vs. Mayumi Ozaki [1] 9:58