Selected matches from Jd' on GAORA #26 6/3/98

SPRING STORM '98 #16 ~2nd Anniversary~	taped 4/26 Tokyo Korakuen Hall

The Goddess Chikako Shiratori vs. Sachie Abe. Shiratori has finally assumed the role of a veteran. She did a better job of carrying the opposition. She also worked stiffer than normal. Her setup was still way too slow though. Shiratori worked hard, but she wasn't having a good night. There were just too many spots that didn't look good or were really telegraphed.

It was weird that Shiratori used a chair in this match because she didn't want to brawl when she was with Cachorras. She didn't use the chair in her next tv match (4/29), so it's not like this is her new thing.

The crowd liked the hard slaps, and they got into the storyline of Abe pushing The Goddess. Abe had one good run where she did a diving victory roll, German suplex, and a missile kick, with the crowd getting more into each near fall. Shiratori then got her legs up for Abe's diving body press and tried to come back with her La Magistral, but it was so badly debacled that the crowd was laughing. Shiratori started using her big spots, but she couldn't put Abe away so she debuted a nadare shiki no DDT then used her Jaguar suplex (cross arm/straight jacked German suplex) for the win. 9:51 (4:21 aired). * range

The Bloody vs. Saya Endo (Neo Ladies). These two will never be pinup girls, but there's a good chance that they can turn into good wrestlers. Saya did a good job of carrying the match. Since both women are heels, there was cheating back and forth, but there was no one in Saya's corner to help her out.

Saya put Bloody in a camel clutch early on and stuck her fingers in Bloody's nose. She tried to ram Bloody's head into the mat, but Bloody didn't go down, so it was embarrassingly bad. Saya took control by immediately going back to the camel clutch with the fingers up Bloody's nose, and there were no more problems from this point forward.

Saya tried to come back with her swinging neckbreaker, but Bloody turned it into a backslide for a near fall. They traded released German suplexes. Saya rolled Bloody's German suplex into a leg lock. She tried to follow it up with a hiza jujigatame, but Bloody bridged back into a jackknife hold for a nice near fall.

Saya utilized the top rope until Bloody avoided her guillotine leg drop and followed with a plancha. Bloody hit her diving senton for a near fall. Saya made a comeback and hit her diving leg drop with a chair over Bloody, but because of the chair ref Tommy Ran refused to count the fall. Thus, Saya tried the same spot again to piss Ran off, but Bloody moved, leaving the chair for Saya to land on. Bloody used some good stiff chair shots then won with her locomotion German suplex.

I was very happy with this match because both looked good without any veterans in the match to carry them. Bloody has really shown a lot of improvement this year. Almost anyone can be carried by Jaguar, but Saya is not exactly a magician. 16:36 (6:34 aired). Looked like **3/4, but it's somewhat doubtful that they maintained this quality for the entire match.

TWF World Tag Titles: Jaguar Yokota & Yuko Kosugi vs. Megumi Yabushita & Sumie Sakai. This was Yabushita & Sakai's first shot at the tag belts. As is the case with every Jaguar match, it was better than it should have been. What made this different was that it wasn't the Yokota show. Jaguar let Kosugi carry much of the load, and the match wasn't that much better when Jaguar was in. Part of this was that Kosugi just gets better and better, but also Jaguar wasn't up to her normal high standards.

The story of this match wasn't Jaguar or Kosugi though, rather it was the vast improvement of Yabushita. Yabushita has adopted a Sakai style outfit (which has become the in outfit for the judo girls) and she's copied the majority of Sakai's spots, which makes sense because they both have the same background (although in judo Yabushita was the better of the two).

The judo girls started the match with simultaneous judo throws into udehishikijujigatames (the whole name for the jujigatame), but the opposition blocked the udehishikijujigatames because they were in perfect health. The match had a lot of nice high spots, as well as the challengers attempting their submission holds. If you want to be picky, you can find some spots by the judo girls that were a little off, but given that they have only been wrestling a little more than a year at this point, it's hard to fault their performance because it was a lot better than it should be.

Yabushita has added the rolling headbutt to her arsenal. She also did the Sakai spot where Kosugi does a springboard arm drag then goes for the pin, but as Kosugi is leaning over she gets taken over into an udehishikijujigatame. Kosugi kept Yabushita from straightening her arm here because the match was built around the premise that the judo girls could win if they could lock in a finisher. Yabushita did a great takedown, and just about had the udehishikijujigatame, but Kosugi made it to the ropes before Yabushita could get full extension.

Yabushita udehishikijujigatame'd Jaguar off the top, but still couldn't extend the arm. Jaguar escaped to the floor, so Yabushita did an udehishikijujigatame off the ring apron. She almost had the arm extended, but referee Tommy Ran broke it up because they were outside the ring. Yabushita held the opposition and Sakai tried to plancha them, but they moved so Yabushita was taken out. Jaguar then took both opponents out with a quebrada. Kosugi followed by footstomping Sakai off the apron and Yabushita off the top to the floor.

Back in the ring, Jaguar shuttle loop bustered Sakai onto Yabushita. Kosugi held Yabushita too close and Jaguar didn't have a good jump, so her moonsault attack turned into a back headbutt. Yabushita tried her nadare shiki no ipponzeoi to Kosugi, but Jaguar pulled her off the top and planted her with a devastating fisherman buster. Kosugi then invented a new move (at least it hadn't been done on a taping before) where instead of doing her diving footstomp with the opponent lying on their back, she did it with her opponent standing up. The cool new spot, still called a diving double (as far as the double goes, the best I can tell is that it's inclusion or exclusion depends on what source the results came from) footstomp, was the finish of the match, which is the way a new spot like that should be debuted.

The judo girls looked good in their first challenge. Yabushita never got her udehishikijujigatame, so you are left with the thought that maybe they can win next time they challenge if they can successfully apply their finisher. The match also showed that Kosugi may be better than we give her credit for. 17:21 (8:21 aired). ***1/4

"Sakai and Yabushita have pretty good chemistry as a team, and if Yokota is smart then she'll	work with them more frequently before she retires. This is about the longest they've
shown Yabushita on any given show, and she looks like she can develop into a pretty-very	good worker. Women's puroresu isn't what it was 3-5 years ago, but it still is very good and it	has a bright future. This match helped out the judo girls much more than the other 'elevation'	matches on this show, although had Sogabe not been so bad she could have been helped by her	match vs. Cooga (note: it was really bad so I didn't review it)," wrote Michael Smith.

TWF World Singles Title: Lioness Asuka vs. Kyoko Inoue. Lioness delivered a Hall of Fame performance here (hint hint). She's become very much like Ultimo Dragon in that she has to pick her spots, but she can work to or above the level of any women in the business. She picked her spot here, and on this night she once again looked like what she was in the 1980's, one of the best workers in the world. Lioness did a masterful job of carrying this match. This was the kind of savvy performance that only an intelligent veteran who really knows how to wrestle can deliver. I'm sure if you think hard enough you can find an exception to the last statement, but I think you know what I mean. A lot of the things Lioness did right were so subtle that you won't even notice them unless you pay very close attention, but if she didn't do them you would have noticed that something was wrong or missing. Lioness basically put on a clinic of how to do a great match with a bloated wrestler that has limited mobility. Kyoko weighed more than ever and was limited to powerbombs and lariats. There were some problems with Kyoko's work, but Lioness did such a great job of carrying this that even the spots Lioness couldn't save didn't hurt the match that much. The pacing of this match was great. Kyoko isn't a thoroughbred like she used to be, but Lioness knows that, so Kyoko didn't need to be in this match. This was the best match in Jd' history, and Kyoko was only good, so that tells you how much of this was due to Lioness.

Kyoko lariated Lioness before the bell and took out Lioness' cronies, but this gave Lioness time to hit Kyoko with a chain. If you are ever going to brag about an impressive display of power then this is the match to do so because Lioness proved here that she's a hell of a lot stronger than she looks. She was doing a bunch of sheer strength spots to a woman at this point has to jump big time just to help most of her opponent's German suplex her. The first of her power spots was her requisite giant swing. Now this wasn't a 30-rep Hase giant swing by any means, but it was nice and fast, and at this point I'm not sure if Hase could whirl Kyoko around 30 times either. Kyoko tried to return the favor, but her giant swing just wasn't happening, so Lioness cut her off.

I was surprised at just how over Kyoko was. I couldn't believe how vocal these fans were because Jd' shows, and it's really the same for every woman's promotion, are sorely lacking in heat. This was the hottest Jd' crowd ever, and Kyoko was over more than she has been any time I've seen her in the past 3 years. Unfortunately, the reason for all this is that Jd' dubbed in an applause track.

The Bloody got booed for breaking up Kyoko's ½ crab. Kyoko went right out after her, ramming Bloody into a table. Kyoko then she took out Fang Suzuki & Ryuna for good measure. By doing this, Kyoko was making a statement that these undercard heels weren't going to keep her from the gold. Once again, attacking Lioness' cronies cost Kyoko the advantage though.

Lioness launched a focused attack on Kyoko's knee, and Kyoko really put it over. The highlight of this segment was Kyoko trying her traditional comeback spot, the springboard back elbow, but Lioness knew it all to well so she kicked Kyoko right in the back of the bad knee.

Kyoko came back with lariats, but she was hobbling big time. She still tried her climb- up elbow spot, but it's down to a walk-up, and Lioness, of course, cut it off by pushing Kyoko over the top to the floor before Kyoko embarrassed herself too much. Lioness body slammed Kyoko off the stage onto an unbreakable table.

Back in the ring, Lioness nadare shiki no brainbustered Kyoko, which was really impressive, but it took too long to set up because Lioness literally had to stand Kyoko up, as if she was a baby. I mean, Lioness sat Kyoko on the top, but Kyoko can't lift her leg from a sitting position over the top rope, so Lioness had to do it for her.

Lioness went for her first powerbomb, but Kyoko was strong enough to resist it, so Bloody & Ryuna wore Kyoko down with kicks and chair shots then assisted Lioness on the Liger bomb for a near fall. Kyoko did a really sad "you are too short and I am too fat" body slam to Bloody. She then pushed Lioness off the top and took Ryuna & Fang out with her lariat. By now you know what happens in this match when Kyoko attacks Lioness' cronies. Well, this time Lioness hit Kyoko with a chain and turned her back not knowing that this shot didn't put Kyoko down. This allowed Kyoko to come back, by catching Lioness off guard. However, Lioness soon countered by back body dropping to the floor. Lioness followed with a great suicida, and when they were back in the ring did an equally great missile kick.

Lioness Liger bombed Kyoko off a table that was on the 2nd rope for a near fall. She applied a sleeper, but Kyoko did an incredibly bad job of throwing her off. They exchanged no sell spots until Kyoko ducked Lioness' high kick and did an "I can't bend at the waist so I'll go down onto my knees" powerbomb. Lioness then caught Kyoko with an udehishikijujigatame, which was a redo of the bad way Kyoko lost the title to Hotta. Kyoko tried her powerbomb, but Lioness slipped out. Kyoko then tried her lariat, but with a great transition, Lioness turned it into a wakigatame.

Later on, Kyoko did her lariat then a Liger bomb, which looked like the finish, but Bloody made the save. Lioness cronies started stomping Kyoko, but Kyoko took them out with lariats. With no one left to save Lioness, Kyoko delivered a Liger bomb, but Asuka lifted her shoulder just in time.

Bloody choked Kyoko with a chain, and Lioness inconspicuously used the turnbuckle for assistance on her Liger bomb. Since Lioness had already proved that she could lift Kyoko, she had no problem getting away with this, and it was a smart move because she got the same result while burning less energy. Bloody & Fang held a wobbly table up, and Lioness diving footstomped Kyoko twice, but the table wouldn't break. Lioness even piledrove Kyoko on this table, but only the leg gave out. Lioness got a hot near fall with her Liger bomb.

Kyoko came back with a released German suplex off the 2nd then lariated Lioness for the sure finish, but Lioness managed to kick out. Another lariat! Still Lioness kicks out. Another lariat! This time it was all she wrote. There was a ton of applause as well as a Kyoko chant for the new champion. Lioness challenged Kyoko to a rematch on the upcoming Neo show, and they actually shook hands. Kyoko stayed in the ring after Lioness left and got a standing ovation. 17:29 (16:44). ****1/2

"This performance by Lioness was another example of why she is one of the top 10 female	wrestlers of all-time. Maybe she doesn't have the workrate of Toyota, the looks of Chikako, or	the minkyness of Oz, but she has one other great element, consistency. By consistency I don't	mean she delivers very good matches on a nightly basic, but that she's consistently been	excellent throughout lengthy her career. Remember this is 1998. It was 13 years ago that she	had one of the most memorable matches in women's Puroresu history against Jaguar Yokota.	All these years later, she was still very much able to carry an overweight, out of shape, well past her	prime Kyoko to a great match. Lioness did a hell of a job of carrying this one to a solid	****1/2," wrote Hadi.

Note: I just watched the Lioness vs. Kyoko rematch from the 5/6 Neo show and it was as good, if not better, than this match. I'll review it in the next column along with Kawada vs. Kobashi and the other AJ stuff I'm behind on.

ARSION STARLET '98 Pro Shot Handheld 4/11/98 Aichi Nagoya Sogo Taiikukan

This was a damn good house show. Some people think that based on the ECW house show reports I have written I don't give enough credit to wrestlers working hard. What separates this show from the last two ECW house shows I've been to isn't the effort, which ARSION only had a small advantage in, but the fact that the hard work translated into them delivering the goods. Everyone on this show looked good with the exception of the two green workers, and the green workers problem certainly wasn't lack of effort.

THE FIRST STARLET: Candy Okutsu (License #7) vs. Faby Apache (ARSION Mexico, License #11). Candy did everything you could ask for to make this a good match. She didn't just work to Faby's strengths, she did a match that was almost entirely Faby's style. The problem was that Faby was so green she wasn't carryable. She blew spots, partly screwed up spots, and was out of position for spots. She made Esther Moreno look like a healthy Rey Misterio Jr. Candy with a powerbomb. 3:32. 1/4*

THE SECOND STARLET: Yumi Fukawa (License #6) vs. Michiko Omukai (License #5). The only wrestling list most people would rate these two close to the top in is the best looking list, but the way they worked their spots into this match was incredible. What made this match beautiful to watch wasn't their looks, but that almost all of their wrestling looked like reaction. It was like a shoot in that they used the best technique in their arsenal that fit the opening that presented itself. It wasn't close to all shoot spots though because based on the positioning and physical condition of the opponent, they were able to work in Lucha, pro style, and anything else they knew. This style was awesome to watch, and all their spots looked logical and credible. I mean, it was cool just seeing them be able to go between styles, all of which they had studied enough to portray fairly accurately, without killing the credibility of the match. Stylistically, this was the most enjoyable match I've seen all year.

Fukawa La Magistral'd Omukai right off the bat because that was the opening ducking Omukai's wild high kick gave her. Omukai tried more kicks, but Fukawa ducked the high kick and put her leg over Omukai's head, which really took cooperation given the difference in their heights. Fukawa did a backflip from this position, which is a spot Owen Hart among others used to do, but instead of just landing on her feet like the rest, she headscissored Omukai on the way over!

They knew the positions on the mat, which is more than you can say for most of the "shooters" in the pro wrestling leagues. Of course, passing the guard still wasn't a big deal because they didn't want the match to be slowed to a standstill. They also had good intensity, not to the level of making you think it was a real shoot of course, but how many people can really fake that level of intensity?

Omukai went back to her kicks. At this point, Don "The Dragon" Wilson pointed out that unlike the majority of the UFC combatants, Fukawa actually knows how to block a leg sweep. Omukai finally connected with a high kick because Fukawa was thinking block low. Fukawa then ate a kick in order to shoot in for the takedown, but once they got to the mat her udehishikijujigatame attempts were unsuccessful.

Omukai was finally able to blister Fukawa with kicks because she didn't give her time to get back to her feet after a rope break. These kicks were vicious. You could hear the flesh being pounded and all. Omukai doesn't have the weight behind her kicks that Kansai or Hotta do, which in part is due to having a very high metabolism because she has been trying to gain weight, but still weighs below 135. However, at 5'9", her reach makes up for her lack of weight. She can probably reach Toshiyo Yamada level of stiffness, and if so she would be a better kicker than Yamada because of the reach advantage and far superior flexibility. After using her kicks, Omukai worked over Fukawa's arm to soften it up for future udehishikijujigatame attempts.

Fukawa was able to use her fisherman suplex because she caught Omukai's foot on a running front kick. Omukai put Fukawa on the second and tried to hit her, but Fukawa caught Omukai's arm and rolled off the top into an udehishikijujigatame. Fukawa DDT'd Omukai then hit a Lionsault. Omukai broke this cover by pushing Fukawa off, but Fukawa swung into an udehishikijujigatame! Omukai was too close to the ropes for Fukawa to get a submission there though. Another good, but not nearly as explosive, reaction spot was when Fukawa rolled to her stomach to avoid Omukai's spinning toe hold, thus giving Omukai her back, so Omukai immediately applied the STF. Fukawa was screaming in pain, but she made it to the ropes for a big pop.

Omukai Tiger drivered Fukawa, but when Fukawa kicked out, she turned it into an udehishikijujigatame! Fukawa got yet another udehishikijujigatame on after a takedown, but once again Omukai was able to grab the rope. Omukai was slow in getting up, which gave Yumi the opening to deliver the Buff Blockbuster for a near fall.

Omukai got a near fall with a Destiny Hammer that didn't really work then applied the udehishikijujigatame. What they were probably trying to show in this match, though obviously it would have worked better if Omukai's Destiny Hammer hit cleanly, was that their old finishers were no longer good enough to win with. Instead, they would have to rely on submissions to get the victory, which separates ARSION from the groups these women used to work in. Now if only All Japan remembered what a submission victory in a big match was like, but I digress. Anyway, Fukawa stayed in this udehishikijujigatame too long before making it to the ropes. Fukawa somewhat atoned for this by selling her arm huge, which allowed Omukai to use her swandive wheel kick for a near fall. This spot looked kind of weird because Fukawa is so small that Omukai had to jump down instead of out. Omukai then caught Fukawa in a crucifix, which is a perfect submission for her to use because it's tailored for her large agile frame, for the win. Fukawa put the finish over big, but Omukai was too cocky for her, getting in her face with her hand up about the win. Thus, Fukawa attacked Omukai and they had a pull apart, which set up their meeting in the first round of the ZION '98 tournament.

Yumi & Michiko both deserve consideration for most improved wrestler, but they'll probably get blown out of the water by such overrated wrestlers as The ChinRock and Captain Suck It now that they are chalking out to "*****" ladder matches. Did I miss the article where it was explained that we are now rating on a seven star scale? I'm wondering how something "not on the level" with TWO OTHER matches of the EXACT SAME TYPE can still be *****, but I guess some things in life will always be a mystery. Anyway, this was a futuristic style bout, and I'd be pretty happy if this somehow turned out to be the style of the future. In any case, the other women's groups should "lift" the way the ARSION women are applying, counter, and finishing with submissions because it would make their matches more well rounded and it would extend their careers. 13:20. ****

"The great thing that other women's groups should copy (GAEA was already doing this to an	extent) is how	the ARSION women have so many ways to get into and out of submissions	that it really adds to their matches. Again, Yumi is the most improved wrestler this year to the	point that it's amazing how much she's improved by completely changing her style and look	for the better. Part of the problem was that the Matsunagas held her back. I truly think that	she's one of the 10 or 15 best women's wrestlers right now, and I don't think that's stretching	it. Considering that she wasn't in anyone's top 25 last year, that's an amazing improvement,"	wrote Michael Smith.

THE THIRD STARLET: Candy Okutsu vs. Jessie Bennett (ARSION USA, Licence #9). Once again, Candy wrestled the opponent's match. Jessie was trained by D-Lo Brown, so this was pro style. It was nothing special, but Jessie is so inexperienced that you have to be happy that Candy was able to carry her to an average match. Jessie's move set is pretty good, but it should get a lot better because she will be adding more big spots as well as the Texas cloverleaf. Her dieting will make some of the moves she used here look better because she will be able to bridge on them. The problems Jessie had were the same as just about every other young wrestler has, and they can all be corrected with experience and effort.

Candy did a very good job here because she knew her opponent's limitations, so she didn't put her in the position to look bad. Candy sold a lot because Jessie is mainly an offense wrestler at this point. She toned her offense down because Jessie can't do complicated spots like Yagi and Kuzumi. Candy was smart enough to let Jessie immediately counter her nadare shiki no Northern Lights suplex because doing that spot to Jessie might send Candy back into retirement. Candy was able to rolling German suplex Jessie for the win, which was impressive given the weight difference. Speaking of the weight difference, what this match proves is that, like in real shoots, it isn't close to the most important thing. ARSION is kind of like Gracie Jui Jitsu, in that skill, technique, and experience are much more important than weight and size. Thus, the 75 or so pounds (which actually is so much that it could make a big difference in a shoot) Jessie had on Candy at this point didn't really mean a thing. 6:52. **

THE FOURTH STARLET: Rie Tamada (License #4) vs. Reggie Bennett (ARSION USA, License #7). This was clearly better than their match on the debut show. It was a good solid match built around Reggie's Global bomb (spinning Liger bomb). Tamada kept finding ways to avoid the killer move, and she was trying to damage Reggie's leg enough to make her submit. Thus, the match was going to come down to the Global bomb vs. the leglock.

Both women were impressive in their own ways. From a technical standpoint, this was the best I've seen Rie look. She's totally out of the Toyota mold now, and she's really become a diverse wrestler. She isn't close to great in any style, but she is proficient in pro style, shoot style, and Lucha Libre. Rie's conditioning, especially tone wise, also appeared to be better than it was on the debut show. You have to give Reggie credit because most wrestlers her age have long been locked into their style, but Reggie tried her best to change. Her technique on the mat isn't clean, and her size is a detriment when trying to work with the much quicker opponents on the mat, but at least she's trying to be a complete "HYPER VISUAL FIGHTER." Aside from the mat, she looked good, delivering impressive power moves and taking bumps that wrestlers of her body type almost have no right to be able to take.

They opened with Lucha, which worked because the spots made sense. Reggie was in perfect condition, so she pulled Rie off the top. When Reggie charged, Rie used her weight, as well leverage, against her by taking her over with arm drags. This showed that speed and technique neutralizes size. The pro spots that followed all worked, but the mat was hit and miss because Reggie lacks the speed and athleticism to make the transitions look clean and smooth.

Rie used a series of kneecap dropkicks to chop the tree down, which was good strategy. This also set up Reggie's comeback, which was catching Rie off the ropes with a powerslam. You could tell that Reggie was starting to blow up already, but she was able to get her wind back because they went to the mat. Reggie mounting Rie didn't work at all because instead of reigning punches or looking for a submission, Reggie basically just sat there and got her wind back. Maybe when ARSION recommended their wrestlers watch RINGS (and other shoot leagues) tapes, they forgot to tell Reggie that Maeda isn't the best guy to copy these days? Once in a while Reggie would throw a love tap to make it look like she was working.

Tamada did a great released German suplex then went back to focusing on the knee with a kneecap missile kick into a hiza jujigatame.

"One part which was great on Rie's part was how she took down Reggie with a great missile	dropkick to Reggie's leg and then murmured, 'Ahhh!' This subtle expression lent	credibility to Rie's strategy of focusing on Reggie's leg. Many Japanese women wrestlers	are criticized for screaming endlessly, but in this case, her comment made the match great for	me," wrote Keith Watanabe.

Reggie took a surprisingly good bump on a swinging DDT for a near fall. She avoided Rie's Dragon suplex finisher, but Rie returned the favor blocking Reggie's Global bomb. Rie turned Reggie's tilt-whirl style powerslam into an arm drag, which looked surprisingly great, then delivered an awesome missile kick.

Bennett again tried for her Global bomb, but Rie turned it into a huracanrana for a near fall. Rie continued countering the Global bomb, but at one point Reggie blocked her huracanrana, so Rie turned it into a sunset flip for a near fall. Reggie dragged Rie up after kicking out of the sunset flip, and Rie finally couldn't counter the Global bomb, so that was all she wrote. 8:57. ***1/4

THE FINAL STARLET: Aja Kong (License #1) vs. Mikiko Futagami (License #3). This was a very good storyline match that Aja did a great job of carrying. Futagami showed she was on Aja's level, and she was willing to do anything it took to take the top star out. Thus, Futagami attacked Aja's legitimately bad knee. Aja's selling was fantastic. She did such an incredible job of looking like she was in excruciating pain that you wondered if she hadn't blown out her knee again. Either Aja was legitimately in a great deal of pain here or she's one hell of an actress because it's hard to fake this kind of emotion, but my guess is it's the latter.

"At one point, Aja can be heard shouting out, "Rope! Rope! Rope!" when Futagami locks on	her leglock with Aja holding onto the ropes. We then see how Futagami's 'Stone Cold'	persona develops, as she refuses to relinquish the hold. This small moment really helped
develop Futagami's appearance as someone who is willing to win at all costs and wrestle a	good game. Aja would then sell her knee beautifully almost like when she truly blew it out	against Akira Hokuto at the Big Egg Wrestling Universe show. Futagami would continue to	pound on Aja after she released the hold, but Aja made a comeback in shouting, "Sore dake!"	(or "Is that it?") showing what a monster Aja is. Yet, Futagami was relentless in her attack on	Aja's leg, delivering some great standing dropkicks that had nice hang time," wrote Keith.

Aja's offense was about what you would expect, stiff. Like the Reggie vs. Rie match, this was a which would win out match, Aja's killer spot, the suichoku rakka brainbuster, or Gami's knee submissions.

Aja set the tone early on by attacking Futagami off a break, so Futagami returned the favor with some Don Frye-esque tactics. The match really picked up at the 10-minute-mark with Aja doing some high spots before Futagami stopped her diving body press by pulling Aja off the top then locked Aja's bandaged up arm in an udehishikijujigatame. Aja avoided Futagami's diving elbow and tried the brainbuster, but Futagami stopped it and came within a fraction of pinning Aja after a shouda. As soon as Aja kicked out, Futagami went into a hiza jujigatame. Aja was verging on tears she was in so much pain (yet still not looking like a cry baby as Kobashi & Otani so often do). She managed to grab the ropes, and Futagami was merely slow in breaking this time. Futagami made the mistake of going after Aja's head with a lariat (should have kept attacking the weakened knee or arm), so Aja ducked it and dropped Futagami on her head with a backdrop driver. Aja again tried for the brainbuster, but Futagami slipped out and applied a standing sleeper. Aja dropped down into a jawbreaker, and almost in one motion, also kicked Futagami in the head like you would to break the Dragon sleeper. Futagami was stunned, but she charged at Aja, who caught her with the uraken. This damaged Futagami enough that she was temporarily unable to defend herself. Thus, The Hellion dropped Futagami on her head with the suichoku rakka brainbuster for the 1-2-3.

"I thought that the finishing sequence with the Uraken-Brainbuster combination was	beautifully done by Aja. She hits her uraken really fast then immediately executes the	brainbuster, both of which are noted Aja finishers. Since both focused on Futagami's head, it	created the KO type of effect," wrote Keith.

It was a simple but effective storyline, but it worked because it not only made Futagami look strong before jobbing, but, like the Reggie vs. Rie match, it put the finisher over huge because the first time it couldn't be avoided that was it. 13:32. ***1/2

Cage Death Match: Las Cachorras Orientales vs. Kaoru Ito & Tomoko Watanabe

from AJW TV 10/9/97 taped 9/21 Kawasaki Shi Taiikukan

This was the third Cachorras brawl in a month in a half that rates among the greatest brawls I've ever seen. What made this a great brawl wasn't the cool gimmick spots or the blood. Those things alone only make brawls great to fans of Big Japan and ECW who have no clue what a great brawl actually is. What made this a great brawl was that they did the cool spots in the right order, with everyone using the proper facials to get them over, so the spots meaning and built to an incredible climax. This is where the vastly overrated Mankind vs. Undertaker Hell in the Cell match failed. Since that entire match, given who was going over, was in the reverse order it should have been, the pinnacle was 1 minute into it, and it was all down hill from there. On the contrary, this match got better and better until it peaked for the finish. Due to the spots having meaning, everything being properly ordered, and the sellout crowd being incredible vocal (and not just popping for the spots), this was a very dramatic match.

Cachorras, who had left the promotion a month earlier, still held the WWWA tag titles, but this was a non-title match. There were no tags here. In order to win the match, both women had to escape over the top of the cage to the floor. Watanabe's shoulder was really in bad shape, so she wore football shoulder pads. Her injury could have really hampered the match, but instead it just helped the psychology.

Cachorras immediately unloaded a series of chair shots. They have the right idea when it comes to throwing the chair at the opponent on occasion. They can throw it harder than they can swing it, yet the shot still isn't hard enough that the opposition is going to lose their brain cells. The first 5 ½ minutes was all brawling with Cachorras also using chains and introducing their foes to the cage. Shimoda even tried to remove Watanabe's shoulder pads to get heat. The result of all this was that Ito and Watanabe were both bloody before they did their first offensive maneuver. This early portion clearly followed a basic premise, establishing the heels.

The U*TOPS team finally came back with Watanabe working over Shimoda's leg then applying a leg lock. Ito did the same to Mita, but she did nothing to work up to it. Ito tried for an udehishikijujigatame on Mita, but Shimoda, who was working on Watanabe's bad shoulder, made the save with a chair shot then tried an udehishikijujigatame. When Mita recovered, she picked up where Shimoda left off, working Ito's shoulder.

Watanabe was screaming in pain from being put in the udehishikijujigatame. Shimoda continued to work Watanabe's arm while Mita took Ito out with her Death Valley bomb. With Ito selling the Death Valley bomb, Mita arm barred Watanabe and Shimoda came off the top with a punch to the shoulder. Cachorras wouldn't normally use this dated common spot, but due to Watanabe's shoulder injury, it enhanced the storyline of the match. What really made the spot work though was the face Watanabe made, while Mita was twisting her arm, when she saw Shimoda perched on the top rope ready to pounce on the bad shoulder. Shimoda then tried the first escape of the match. It was almost 10 minutes into the match, so this certainly wasn't Los Hermanos Dinamitas vs. Los Payasos in a which team can pull the other team off the cage the most death for all the viewers match. Of course, the first attempt at an escape didn't work, as Ito nadare shiki no released German suplexed Shimoda back into the ring.

Ito displayed a lot more fire than normal here, but all her comebacks were quickly cut off. With everyone down in the ring selling, Shimoda had Saya tie the security rail to a chain so they could get it over the top rope for Shimoda's rail drop. Maekawa tried to stop Saya, which was a nice little fued of the understudies that went on outside the ring throughout the match, but she was unsuccessful. Even though it was cool that Shimoda jumped off the top of the cage, the spot took too long to set up, and she way she does this spot she may as well just push the ladder over because her jump didn't add any impact to it. Cachorras tried to escape, but the U*TOPS recovered in time, and they finally took the advantage when Cachorras chair spot backfired.

Ito used the chain on Shimoda, who juiced a gusher. Ito held Shimoda in the udehishikijujigatame forever, and Shimoda was selling it huge. Since there were no submissions in this match, Mima was at Ito's mercy, and Kaoru wasn't going to show her any. Mita wasn't able to make the save because Watanabe cannonball bustered her. Ito & Watanabe both tried to escape together. Watanabe made it over the top, but Mita recovered in time to cut Ito off by nadare shiki no piggyback dropping Ito, which was incredible. Watanabe being the one that escaped made sense because that meant the healthy one on the team was the one that was working longer.

The fans got behind Ito because it was two against one. Ito did her diving footstomp to both and tried to escape, but they cut her off. Cachorras then held Ito against the cage so Saya could spray a fire extinguisher in her face, and all around for that matter, which was a page out of Aja's book from the great brawl against Cachorras from 8/9/97. This created something of a smoke screen, and both Cachorras tried to escape. They did the smart thing, which was trying to escape from opposite sides of the ring, thus making it impossible for Ito to stop them both. Mita escaped, but Ito was able to stop Shimoda with a udehishikijujigatame off the top. They used the cage for leverage extremely well in this match, allowing them to do moves off the top rope that they would normally have to do off the 2nd. This was the most incredible of these spots because Ito had Shimoda in udehishikijujigatame position before she even jumped off the top! Shimoda's arm was still dead from the earlier jujigatame, and she had been doing a great job of selling it all the way. She looked like a bird with a broken wing. Thus, it didn't take much to finish her off. Ito tried to escape, but since Mita is a heel, she had to try to stop Ito by climbing up the cage. They met at the top of the cage, but Ito dragged Mita over the top, and Mita took the bump into the ring. Ito probably could have escaped right at this point, but the titles weren't on the line and her legal opponent was "crippled," so a measure of revenge was worth more than the chance to win the match then and there. Ito climbed to the top of the cage and spread her arms for the Superfly leap. However, she jumped off the top of the cage onto Mita with her diving footstomp, which was 20 times as brutal as doing a body press would have been. Ito decided it was time for her to escape, and Mita certainly wasn't going to stand in her way at this point. Of course, you have to make it dramatic, so Shimoda pulled herself up with her good arm and tried to stop Ito, but she was in such bad shape that she got over there too late and was unable to climb up the cage because she only had one arm. Ito wasn't taking any chances though, so instead of climbing all the way down the cage she just let go and plunged to the mat landing on or next to Watanabe, who was still selling the previous damage.

This finishing sequence was the stuff legends are made of, and the fans went absolutely nuts for it. To top it all off, you had Hotta, the leader of the U*TOPS, lying over her partners and hugging them. Since this was beyond a war, Ito was spitting up something and Shimoda and Watanabe were putting their arm/shoulder over huge.

This match could hardly have been better. The worst thing about it was that AJW had a really crappy camera for the overhead shots, so that footage wasn't even broadcast quality though obviously it aired anyway. The match put over the heels even though they lost, and actually it was really classy in that respect with AJW showing respect for their departed greats instead of jobbing them out like the US promotions would have done. The match also put the U*TOPS over huge because not only did they make the dramatic comeback win, but their new submission style was the catalyst.

This was the best women's match of 1997 and most likely the best match in the careers of Mita, Ito, & Watanabe. This may also be the best match in Shimoda's career, but that's a little more questionable. It seems to be her best tag match, which really says a lot given that she's one of the all-time great tag wrestlers. I normally hate escape cage matches, but this was truly great. This is the highest rating I've ever given to a cage match, which doesn't necessarily mean I'm saying it's the greatest ever, but it's easily the best I've viewed during the time period I felt I could fairly accurately rate matches. 17:26. ****3/4

According to Michael Smith, "This match was much better than any of the Hell in the Cell	matches because they mixed brawling and wrestling, while all Michaels and Cactus did was	bump. Of course, that's all you can do when you wrestle a 'good worker' who is 'Hall of	Fame' calibre like Undertaker. The bump that Michaels took off of the cage through the	table was talked about for months as being spectacular. However, it was extremely overrated	because what people fail to mention is that the spot took forever to set-up. The double	footstomp off of the top of the cage was not only a gutsy move on Ito & Mita's part that was	more dangerous than anything Michaels has ever done, but it was a spot that we didn't have to	wait forever to see. As Mike pointed out to me, the waiting time for the diving footstomp only	served to build anticipation for the spot, as Ito was playing to the crowd in Snuka-esque	fashion. This finish truly was a beautiful moment of perfection where everything was just	right, with the reaction of the crowd not only intensified an already dramatic and epic brawl,	but taking the match to an even higher level. It truly was, 'the stuff that legends are made of.'	Any fan that thinks New Jack is the epitome of a brawler or thinks that taking two suicidal	bumps from the top of a cage makes a match "****1/2" owes it to themselves to check out this	match and see how a cage match should be done. This match set a standard that may never be	reached again."

Originals

I'm lucky enough to have a friend that was willing to let me borrow a whole slew of AJW originals, including some of the best tapes ever released. For a very limited time, I can provide near-perfect 1st generation copies of these. Here's the list of tapes that I am borrowing. Further information such as match lists and pricing will be emailed upon request.

THE WAR DREAM WWWA WORLD & ALL PACIFIC DOUBLE TITLE MATCH YUKARI OMORI VS. CHIGUSA NAGAYO 10/20/87 Tokyo Ota-ku Taiikukan

*Omori vs. Chigusa ****1/2 match I reviewed a while back

THE WAR DREAM II Dump Matsumoto, Yukari Omori Retirement Match 2/25/88 Kawasaki Shi Taiikukan

*The retirement of the best heel of all-time, as well as an underrated former WWWA champion. According to the Observer, when AJW aired this on tv, it drew a whopping 13.3 rating on a Saturday afternoon, which made it the most watched wrestling event in Japan in 1988. After the match, (Crush Gals vs. Dump & Omori) Dump's arch enemy (that's the best term I can think of, but it doesn't do the rivalry justice) Chigusa convinced her to team with her for the first and only time and they have an exhibition match against Lioness & Omori.

Dump Matsumoto Gokuaku Doumei Sentou Shi (Heinous Alliance Battle History) Dump vs. Crush Gals Kogane (Gold) Memorial

*highlights the tag matches in the top women's feud of the era, Dump vs. Crush Gals

TAG LEAGUE THE BEST '89 FINAL 10/8/89 Tokyo Korakuen Hall

*Toyota & Yamada vs. Nishiwaki & Medusa

Zenjyo Izu Yume (Dream) * Hakaten (Ignition or Combustion Point) 2/28/93 Tokyo Korakuen Hall

*Debbie Malenko defends the AJ Title against an American, Terry Power, in possibly the best singles match of Power's career. Yamada & Toyota defend the WWWA tag titles against Hotta & Takako.

Zenjyo Izu Yume * Bakuhatsu Zenya (Explosion Last Night) 3/20/93 Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Toyota vs. Takako, Aja defends the WWWA World Singles against Kyoko

All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling 25th Anniversary Yume no All Star Ikusa (All Star War of Dreams) ALL STAR DREAMSLAM 4/2/93 Yokohama Arena

*One of the three best shows in the history of wrestling, perhaps the best ever! 9 of the 10 wrestling matches are very good or better. Hokuto has a ***** match with Kandori that's arguably the best women's singles match. Ozaki & Cuty vs. Inoues is also awesome enough to be rated ***** by some, though I'd go with ****3/4

All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling 25th Anniversary Yume no All Star Ikusa (All Star War of Dreams) ALL STAR DREAMSLAM 2 4/11/93 Osaka Furitsu Taiikukaikan

*Not quite as good as the first, but still one of the three best shows ever! Kansai & Ozaki take the WWWA tag titles in a ***** match that won 1993 Observer Match of the Year, and is probably 2nd the best women's tag ever trailing their first meeting on 11/26/92. Hotta punts The Damn Clown!! The combination of Ozaki & Toyota together in ***** match and Clown getting what she deserves makes this priceless to me, even if the show didn't have a slew of other choice matches.

JAPAN GRAND PRIX '93 I 5/3/93 Toda Shi Sports Center

*Hikari vs. Ito, Mita vs. Harley, & Hotta vs. Yamada in JGP matches.

JAPAN GRAND PRIX '93 II 5/8/93 Tokyo Korakuen Hall

*Harley somehow has a **** or better JGP match with Takako. Hotta & Toyota vs. Hokuto & Yamada.

JAPAN GRAND PRIX '93 IV 7/4/93 Tokyo Korakuen Hall

*Former Marine Wolves (Hokuto & Suzuka), Hotta vs. Hikari, & Yamada vs. Harley in JGP matches

Korakuen G*TOP 5/7/95 Tokyo Korakuen Hall

*Suzuka Minami unfortunately retires. Toyota and Kyoko deliver the most nonstop, action packed 60:00 draw ever in a WWWA World Singles title match that won 1995 Observer Match of the Year!

CHIGUSA WORLD REVOLUTION Chigusa Nagayo World Kakumei (Revolution) Road

*Chigusa wrestles in America, Canada, & Mexico, but, not surprisingly, the best match on the tape is when she returns to Japan and wrestlers Yumi Ogura.

Syuu Puroresu vol. 24 Manatsu no Ya no Budokan (Budokan Midsummer Night) DISCOVER NEW HEROINE 8/12 & 13/96 Tokyo Nippon Budokan

*U*TOP tournament of legit shoots with Hotta, Lioness, Reggie Bennett, & Rosina Elina among others that AJW hoped Hotta would win. Interpromotional tag tournament where veterans were paired with youngsters in hopes that the young wrestlers would get over. AJW did better when they didn't hope...

Staying on the topic of originals, I recently purchased the following 3 originals, so they are also available.

All Japan '98 Super Power Series

*The typical formula is Kawada+headlining June Budokan Show=Strong MOTYC, and this was no exception. In fact, despite having ***** matches in June 1994, 1995, & 1997, Kawada's performance in this match was probably more impressive than in any of the aforementioned all- time classics. With the possible exception of Tamura vs. Kousaka which I haven't seen yet, this was the best match since 10/21/97 Misawa vs. Kobashi. What made Kawada's performance so impressive was that Kobashi played an integral part in the greatness of his two 1997 classics with Misawa, while this match was almost entirely great because of Kawada, with Kobashi basically along for the ride. Kawada dragged Kenta along, instilling the build, psychology, teases, and timing that have been so down of late as AJ has become spot, spot, a dangerous spot. Of course, it was still ungodly stiff. This was better than both of the 60:00 draws these two have had, and looked to be Kawada's best performance since 1995. The only thing not to like about this one was that the perfect finish was escaped, and the wrong guy soon went on to win.

Video Idol Scholar Love Fall Vol. 2 Kanako Motoya

*For the past couple years I've been asking if Motoya & Omukai had tapes yet, and finally my wish was granted. Now I have to type more because I have to add new or another to the question.:) Anyway, it's a lot better now that Motoya gets the entire tape, and doesn't have to carry the likes of Yoko Ikeda. This is about what you would expect from a first video, so if you like Motoya, and you must not be a guy if you don't, you won't be disappointed.

ARSION VISUAL FIGHTER SERIES Vol. 2 ARTEMIS in Michiko Omukai

*Somehow managed not to mark out in the Motoya write up, and my editing skills improved enough that I was able to keep the images of both down to a "respectable" number, but I don't think I can contain myself here. Omukai was "Blooming" in 1996, and she has turned into the sexiest thing not named Ozaki. I guess I'll say this is equal in excellence to Fukawa's video because I can't decide which one is better since that would mean one would have to be worse. Both rule because they are really well made and the women look great. I guess it's a matter of taste. Fukawa looks better when she's smiling/giggling, while Omukai looks better when she's serious. Fukawa is incredibly beautiful, while Omukai is incredibly sexy. Fukawa has an awesome face, while Omukai has an awesome body. Considering Michiko is 23, Yumi is 22, & Kanako is 19, they seem poised to dominate the puroresu MCM's for years.

Special Thanks to Keith Watanabe, Michael Smith, & Hadi Motiee