[1996-10-13-JWP-The Ryogoku Big Project] Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV & Hikari Fukuoka & Hiroumi Yagi vs Super Delphin & Gran Naniwa & Candy Okutsu & Commando Bolshoi

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Super Delphin is putting the moves on the women! He's also the source of a lot of comedy, as he tries to encourage the women on his team to wrestle Sasuke, as he's hesitant to tag in. More relaxed than most matches usually are in either style, with most of the wrestlers just amusing themselves with the whole concept and doing lots of comedy and fun sequences, and I laugh because they seem to be making an effort to make this match even more preposterous than it already is. They build up to the women all beating up on Naniwa in various spots, which gets a great crowd response. Then the same thing happens to Delphin and he sells it like he's never been so furious in his life, which is awesome. Then Sasuke gets outwrestled. Tiger Mask sees what is happening when the other men try to wrestle the women and has to be persuaded to tag in. Delphin does the Memphis back-turned arm wringer spot, then realizes he's doing it to the same women he was putting the moves to and is all apologetic, and everyone laughs at his expense. Every bit as fun as you'd think, and not at all weird like I thought it might be, as everyone involved seems to be having the time of their lives.

[Tim Evans]

This is why I love the Yearbook concept so much. I would have never even heard of this match if not for this set. Great match the blended so many styles: Memphis, Lucha, Puro, Joshi, Comedy etc. I really liked the Joshi girls. Especially Bolshoi. She hit her moves great and I loved the spot where I guess it's Candy stretched her mask for a rope break. I like that it didn't overdue the comedy but wasn't serious about it. Nice find.

[Zenjo]

What struck me is that in late '96 there were two mixed gender tag matches on the Yearbook. In JWP it's good, honest, clean family entertainment. In ECW it's the polar opposite.

 

This was plenty of fun with a notable, yet not overbearing comedy element. The ladies all dressed up like the men with themed masks for the entrance. The JWP wrestlers also adapted to the Lucharesu style with commendable proficiency. There were a few errors but overall the standard was high. With minimal male on female violence there isn't anywhere further you can take the concept. As a one off it was a big success.

[PeteF3]

I didn't have a clue how this was going to end up when I first saw these 8 people in one match, but it ended up being a load of fun. There were probably 6 or 7 spots that would have made Bill Watts see red, but in this context they worked. Even the tired arm-pump spot led somewhere, as Delfin's female teammates initially turned on him, only for it to be a set-up on Sasuke & Tiger Mask. Great build to the initial female-vs.-male showdown as well--and other than a trip and Delfin bodyslamming Fukuoka, the man-on-woman violence is minimal, whereas the woman-on-man violence is abundant. One of the better hidden gems of any Yearbook--the old comedy spots looked fresh in a new setting and there was some new stuff to go with the Lucharesu's Greatest Hits match layout.

[soup23]

Holy shit, what a fun match. All of these eight people worked hard and the interaction of Delphin using the comedy was really endearing. I voted for El Samurai as #99 in GWE but I am wondering if that spot should have went to Delphin based on his 2000 stuff and the versatility he showed here. Bolshoi is also someone that doesn't crop up all too often in the 90's stuff we watch but when she does, she always adds something to the match. A really strong showcase to fill out this JWP card. ***1/2

[tim]

Fun stuff, good comedy and especially when the men and women mixed it up it was a lot of fun. Cool novelty, not an excellent match or anything but good to watch.