[1992-08-15-AJW-Mid Summer Typhoon] Manami Toyota vs Toshiyo Yamada (Hair vs Hair)

[ShittyLittleBoots]

A match without any soul or flow. There's definitely LOTS of action packed into this one - but I failed to connect w/ the story they were trying to tell. Felt like just a bunch of movez for me. The selling also wasn't there, just a bunch of movez after movez. This wouldn't have felt out of place on a ROH show in 2011. *

[Beast]

This is my first Joshi viewing (at least in many years) and this didn't do much for me. 

It was very much a spotfest, with a weird lack of transitions and meaning behind what was happening. Each one took a turn hitting a ton of moves and getting near falls and then all of a sudden it would be the other's turn. The finish was out of nowhere as Yamada was destroying Toyota only to get a pinning combination reversed leading to her finish (which  looked almost botched, or at least pretty sloppy). 

Reading this thread, I get that Yamada had already wrestled that night which makes this story even more bizarre. If I squinted, it felt like two wrestlers trying even harder than usual because the hair was on the line, but going in blind it felt like Toyota was the one fighting from behind as Yamada was fairly dominant here. 

Not bad at all, but there's a clear evolution from this to the type of stuff that Meltzer loves today. 

[cactus]

I'm starting to see why people aren't as high on Toyota as they were 10-15 years back. I wouldn't say this match lacked drama, but it certainly didn't have much in the way of story outside of them having to bust out their biggest moves to save their hair and the post-match stuff where Toyota tries to save Yamada from losing her hair. This felt like a good match on Fire Pro Wrestling Returns. It's exciting, full of big moves and 2.9 counts, but it lacks any memorable selling or a narrative tying everything together. Toyota was quite sloppy during the opening exchanges, but she more than makes up for it with some of her excellent looking bridges on her suplexes. While I can admit there's a glass ceiling on this kind of wrestling, I enjoyed this a lot. 

★★★¾

[dawho5]

I would also say that the post-match is the best part of this.  And that the tag from the earlier show was better.  That being said, one Hell of a spotfest and props to these 2 (Yamada especially) for being able to cut this pace.

[fxnj]

First prime Toyota singles match (I'd seen some of the pimped tags like 10 years ago but remember nothing), and I shockingly really enjoyed it. My biggest takeaway on her as a performer besides the blazing fast working pace, the spotiness that comes with that, and the sloppiness is that she has the most beautiful bridge I've seen a wrestler do. The bridge she got on that first double underhook suplex had such a gorgeous arch that I actually rewound a few times just to see it again. Later in the match, the way she arches up to break out of a pin and then slowly deflates downwards is chef's kiss. Somehow I got ballerina vibes from her, and I couldn't quite put my finger on what the connection was besides the bendiness until I remembered Natalie Portman's character in Black Swan. Seems like a pretty good fit between the black outfit and the self-destructive tendencies. If Andre/Hansen is King Kong meets Godzilla then this is hot but crazy ballerina having a falling out with her badass karate fighter friend. The kicks in that Yamada control segment around the mid-point were nasty with some of them looking they hit flush on the face. The cross-body Toyota ate on the outside floor with Yamada aiming towards her head also looked like concussion city. Then they got back in and she ate a bunch of backdrop drivers. Crazy shit. If this is representative of how Toyota works her big matches, she could well become one of my go-to workers when I'm in the mood for turning my brain off and enjoying some good clean violence. Toyota winning in like 2 moves at the end after Yamada made her go through hell was a bit disappointing, though. Fast forwarded through much of the post-match as I wasn't in the mood for melodrama, but I do respect how these workers worked themselves into shoot crying and that was some great delivery on Toyota's post-match promo.